Man faces animal cruelty charge after abandoning dog on mountain
 

what do you think?

A 29-year-old man is expected to face a charge of animal cruelty after he abandoned his dog on a Colorado mountain, the Clear Creek Sheriff's Office officials said Friday.

Anthony Joseph Ortolani told The Denver Channel earlier that he was forced to leave his German shepherd named Missy on the snow-capped peaks of Mount Bierstadt Aug. 5, when a storm moved in and he became worried for the safety of a younger hiker who was with him.

He said his dog's feet were cut up from walking on sharp rocks and it could no longer walk.

ABC News' previous efforts to reach Ortolani were unsuccessful.

Scott Washburn and his wife, Amanda, found Missy Aug. 11, while they were on a leisurely hike up Mount Bierstadt.

"We were hiking to this ridge and we got off course and I was a little ahead of my wife," he said. "She called out to me and said, 'Hey I found a dog,' and figured I misheard her 'cause there was no way a dog was where we were."

Washburn and his wife were incredulous at how this dog, tucked into a tiny nook between rocks, could have ended up where it was. The whimpering dog was, as Washburn said, "in awful shape." He was convinced it would have died if left without food or water for much longer. The couple tried to coax the dog up out of the rocks and down the mountain but it was clear the dog was too injured and weak to move.

"We knew we weren't going to be able to get her out by herself," said Washburn. "Her paws were completely raw and her elbows were torn up."

Washburn got together a group of eight volunteers and the group headed back up the mountain that Monday morning. The group found the dog with all of its wounds Washburn had tried to bandage reopened. The rocks around the dog were covered in blood, and the dog was back cowering beneath the surrounding rocks.

The group of eight hikers traveled through a full-blown snowstorm that broke out during their hike. Eventually, after a nine-hour rescue mission, the group successfully managed to bring back the broken and bruised dog in a hiker's oversized backpack.

Upon their return, the hikers entrusted the dog to a local vet, who told Washburn that it was "the miracle dog of the century, and although she was severely dehydrated she has, miraculously, no long-term or permanent damage."

"I just don't think that his actions have shown that he is a responsible dog owner," Washburn said. "We understand that he had to leave her there. My wife and I did the same thing. But we ended up going back for her, and we went to some pretty extreme lengths to do so. In my opinion, that is not a responsible dog owner, who doesn't really care about her."

Washburn and his wife, as well as other members of the rescue team, would now like to adopt Missy, Washburn said. But Ortolani is asking for his dog back.

Clear Creek County Sheriff's Sgt. Rick Safe said "the dog was basically abandoned up there."

"He [Ortolani] made no initial attempt. After three days, he thought the dog was deceased so he made no attempts to reclaim the dog," Page said.

The sheriff's department also has a rescue team, and other hikers told them about Missy being stranded on Mount Bierstadt during the weekend. However, the rescue team was unable to respond because it is solely reserved for human rescues.

"We can't specifically send a rescue effort for a dog," Safe said. "We have a designated rescue team. In the last two weeks we have had six rescues, one a day on the weekends, for people. It is tough terrain out there."

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Shouldn't have took a dog with them.

Fuck em'...

Wish I could steal the dog for myself. Fuck the "owner"

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I would welcome that dog with open arms in a heart beat.

Somw humans aren't ment to have animals... or kids :Oh crap

Washburn and his party of eight sound more crazy than Ortolani is a bad dog owner.

so he should have tried to save the dog and risk the kids life that was with him?

No he shouldn't have taken the dog in the first place...

Or gone back and tried to save the dog or even end its life in a peaceful manner. Not let it die in pain from exposure.

two men with good heads :2 cents:

I'm a dog lover, but he made the right choice if another person's life was in danger.

It was just a dog. It is wrong to intentionally hurt a dog, but that is not what he did. He had to choose between saving a person and an animal. Saving the person is more important than saving an animal. He made the right call.

wtf

a storm was coming not fucking jihad joe with an uzi !!

the guy didnt even go look for his dog! what a fucking cunt!

i tell ya right now id push someone like that off a mountain if it meant i could save a dog

believe that

No he didn't make a good decision. A good decision would have been to immediately make a return trip to deal with what is supposedly a loved member of the family, the family dog.

This wasn't an either or decision. He didn't step in front of a bullet or save one from an on rushing train. It was a dog HE put in danger that he wrote off like it was nothing.

This irresponsible ass wipe didn't even tell anyone or make a followup attempt himself. He left the trusting loyal family pet to die alone of exposure, starvation or lack of water.



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And then the cunt asks for his fucking dog back. :error

Dogs are not persons. They are ANIMALS. Persons are more important than animals.

on what ? the moh's scale of importance ? :321GFY

:1orglaugh You better hope I never have to choose between you or my dog.

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Freaky is just trolling. It's already been explained to him that the point is the guy didn't go back for his dog, not that he should have risked the life of another person for the dog.

I often wonder if "animal lovers" have difficulties dealing with other humans, so they cling onto animals because they get easy unconditional love.

Maybe it's just compassion.

he could say he left the dog out there. most people cannot back track their path through the woods. :2 cents:

Maybe it's the other way around and animal lovers are smart enough to understand that to a dog it's owner is it's entire life. I am the ONLY thing in my dogs life and to ignore that responsibility and devotion would make me a total uncaring idiot.

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Interesting. Could be.

Are you from the city or the country?

I grew up in the country. Funny as it sounds, all of my dogs had their "own life." And yes, I had several. And no, I don't hate dogs.

I ask those who support the dog;

what if he took the dog and left the child?

I'm from the suburbs but have lived in both the country and city. Every dog I ever had was an "inside" animal that spent time outside. I think most dogs look to their owner for food, water, shelter, play time, companionship ... When I leave the room for more than 5-10 minutes my dog finds me with a look that says "you ok?" Then lays back down and goes to sleep.

I think most people underestimate how much their dog needs and respects the pack leader in their life.

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Obviously take the child. Then go back and take responsibility for a living thing that trusts you. Either rescue it yourself. Pay others to help you. Or, in a situation like this maybe go back and peacefully end the dogs life. Letting it lay there to die is the lazy decision of a dirt bag.

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I hope you dogs > humans people are vegetarians...

You save the kid, and then GO BACK AND GET YOUR FUCKING DOG. Wtf is the issue?

I'm not a vegetarian. I only eat long pig though.

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"The group of eight hikers traveled through a full-blown snowstorm that broke out during their hike."

I'm curious. How far, in your opinion, should one go to save one's dog? Should you be willing to risk your own life?

I wasn't there.

I'm not qualified to pass judgement.

Neither is anyone else on this board.

I'm thinking the same thing. I love my dog, but I have to pick between my dog and anyone else I know... Sorry, but my dog looses.

Anyone else want to miss the point again?

Humans are animals and there are very few human animals that I would say are more important than a dog...and even less that I would choose over my own dog.

Yes I would...and would take anyone's life that tried to stop me. I am not real big on being a humanist.

I hate animal cruelty. If a human is in danger than you make a decision that is logical. That doesn't mean you do not take extra efforts to rescue the dog. He shouldn't be allowed to own any pets ever again. If I was on the mountain I'd likely leave him instead of the dog...

Many guys here are missing the point.

It is not about picking the man or the dog (I'd probably pick the dog and ask for a help for the human), but at least showing some respect for the dog.
He could at least tell someone about the dog, even if he was refused from the rescue team, he still tried. But in this case, he didn't. He just left it there, assuming that the dog would die anyway.
Now imagine not saving a life just because you are assuming something wrong.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

fuck the dog

you dog lovers are what is fucking up this country.

I agree, The guy had a German shepherd that dog is supposed to be smart and tough and also protect its master till they die. Police dogs and well as world war II dogs are wiling to sacrifice their life for the sake of their masters safety, I'm sure there was some kind of communication between the dog and its master. I don't speak dog but the dog must have known of the sacrifice because it was injured.

Jeez, How about that movie 8 below where Paul Walker had to leave 8 huskys in the antartic for a year. Fucking disney movie too, at least it had a happy ending and so did this story.

You'd have fucked the dog ? I don't think that would have helped the situation.

Thanks for your input though...

Yeah. No shit. The guy made what could have been a life or death decision for a human being and people are getting their panties in a twist over the fact that he left a dog behind?

Anyone who would put the value of life of a human over an animal is pretty fucked up in the head if you ask me.

Also, if the storm was bad enough to push them off the mountain...it was likely that they were unable to search, whether they wanted to or not.

Exactly.... take the dog, fine, but once he got his younger hiker safe, the first thing he should have done is go back for that dog, or as you say put him down, anything but the decision he made.

My dog and I recently went thru a pitbull attack in my own front yard and there was no way in hell I was going to leave her by herself, she was only 7 months old, with that animal, I stayed right there with her knowing full well I could have been hurt or worse myself.... you just don't leave an animal to die if there is any choice in the matter. They risk life and limb for us and the least we can do is the same... or better.

A human is an animal...thief.

Are you a vegetarian?

No...but I very seldom eat meat other than fish.

So true it's sad.

The courts would say the dog is property if someone had accidentlly left the door opened and the dog ran into traffic and was killed.

Just pointing out how f'ed up the law can be when it comes to pets.

IMHO there would not have been any charges if he'd told the sherrif, or tried to hire some rescue (who evidently would not have gone) or maybe volunteers (which I guess would have worked).

Sad situation. I wonder how people would feel if he had had a huge funeral service for the dog he thought he had to leave behind to it's death to save a child? Or if he'd been grieving and is now rejoicing only to be told you can't have the dog back and by the way heres a huge fine?