Colorado Sheltie Dog Finally Back Home After Being Lost In Mountains For 5 Weeks

After a heavy snowfall in early April completely buried the five-foot fence in the backyard of Mike Krugman’s Summit County, Colorado, home, his eight-year-old Sheltie, Riley, was able to walk right out of the yard. Krugman contacted the Summit Lost Pet Rescue but weeks passed with no news of Riley.

That is until hiker Zachary Hackett, on an accidental detour from his usual route, came across Riley on May 14th. Startled by a small yip, Hackett found the now-immobile Riley, picked up and carried him several miles down the mountain, and cared for him overnight before taking him to a local vet.

Krugman was amazed when he heard that Riley had been located. The pup’s adventure took him nearly 4-thousand vertical feet up the mountain and around four miles from home, and he lost half his weight in the process.

Riley was owned by Krugman’s late wife, and his unlikely survival made him wonder, “Someone had to be looking out for him. Maybe it was my wife.”