A man and his dog went missing in Colorado. Months later, his body was discovered with his dog, Finney, by his side — alive.
Rich Moore, 71, and his 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier were reported missing Aug. 19 after they didn’t return from a hiking trip in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
“It just brings us all to tears, the loyalty of that dog,” Taos Search and Rescue member Delinda Vanne-Brightyn told CNN.
A hunter spotted Moore’s body on Oct. 30, and he was recovered the next day. Archuleta County Coroner told The Washington Post Moore died of hypothermia. The coroner was not able to confirm the date or time of Moore’s death.
It was the third time a dog was recovered alive staying next to a hiker’s body in the last year, according to CBS News. One was a Labrador discovered next to his 74-year-old owner’s body in Arizona and another was by the side of a 29-year-old missing hiker in Los Angeles.
CNN reported that “Finney likely survived on water from nearby underground streams and by capturing small animals such as field mice or chipmunks.”
She was reunited with her family following treatment at a local animal hospital, per USA Today.
“They become loyal to the death a lot of times,” certified dog behaviorist and trainer Russell Hartstein told CNN.