That was my first reaction to this story:
Two Denver hikers are locked in a bitter battle over the fate of a German Shepard named Missy, who was abandoned by one and then rescued by another at 13,000 feet.
Scott Washburn found the dog bloodied and near-death atop Colorado’s Mt Bierstadt and then organized a search and rescue party to save her.
He wants to keep the dog, alleging that Anthony Ortolani lacks the ability or compassion to care for the creature, which went without food and water for eight days.
It’s not that the dog was left behind; if you can’t get an injured animal off of a mountain by yourself, you can’t get an injured animal off of a mountain by yourself. But one side in this dispute went home and put a team together to God-damned well get that dog down off of the mountain; and the other side went home and checked the internet to see if anybody was doing that. Guess which side I think deserves to have a dog.
Go ahead. Guess.
Moe Lane
(H/T: AoSHQ)
There’s a special hell for those who’d abandon their animal to torture and death…
.
One time, I was driving along and I heard a news report about a couple of guys being sentenced to two years in prison for hanging a dog off a bridge. What P.J. O’Rourke calls the “went-to-college” part of my brain said, “Gee, that seems a bit harsh. After all, it was only a dog.” The devil’-advocate part of my brain then said, “And what if it had been your dog?” Without hesitation, went-to-college replied, “I’d *****’ kill ’em.” ’nuff said.
I’ve spent a LOT of time hiking at those altitudes.There’s no way I’d abandon my dog because it was getting late and snowing. That’s partly because I always (and I mean ALWAYS) hike that kind of terrain with enough shelter and clothing to stand 48 hours of exposure waiting for rescue. Getting late? Weather closing in? Got a dog who is taking some time to get down the mountain? No problem. Find a crevice in the rocks or a sheltered spot, set out the space blanket and the warm clothing (dogs make great hot water bottles, by the way), split up the spare water and the clif bars (not the chocolate ones, but dogs love the kinds they can have) and wait for morning. Takes an extra day to get down? Lather, rinse, repeat. Water is the big concern, but if it’s really snowing hard you’re covered, as long as you remembered the Jet-Boil.
Oh, wait. You didn’t carry the five pounds of stuff (plus five to ten pounds of water) that it takes to do this? You rolled the dice on Mt. Bierstadt and figured what could it hurt? You’re an idiot. If you brought a child or an animal with you, you’re a selfish and irresponsible idiot who deserves what’s coming to you.
And not going back? You lose the child or the dog every damn time. Lots of people make bad decisions, especially when what was supposed to be a simple hike turns into a rescue. Deliberately refusing to marshal your resources and fix the problem makes you scum. Anxiously watching the internet to see if anybody else was better than you makes you pathetic, too.
As you said, Moe, it ain’t his dog any more.