A service dog lost in training survived for nearly two months in frigid weather and with a broken leg before hikers found her near a Colorado mountain trail and helped reunite her with her disabled owner, according to reports. .
Nova Riley, a 14-month-old Bernese mountain dog who had been training to help her owner Robynne Simons-Sealy get around, was missing for seven weeks after she was startled in a parking lot and took off her harness, her owner said. Robynne Simons-Sealy. she told the Boulder Daily Chamber.
“It survived two snow storms and sub-zero weather,” Simons-Sealy told the outlet. “I cried every time it snowed.”
On Nov. 19, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, two hikers found the frightened dog with a broken leg near a trail in Meyer Ranch Park, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Nova bit one of the two hikers while “they were attempting to carry the injured pet down the mountain,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
So one of the hikers stayed with the dog while the other went to meet the rescuers to show them where the dog was.
Nova Riley, the 14-month-old Bernese mountain dog, was found by hikers on a mountain trail in Colorado two months after she went missing. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office/Instagram
The bitten hiker was not seriously injured and did not need stitches, the Daily Camera reported, citing animal control officer Kylie Rupe.
Rupe and three rangers had to walk three miles along the mountain trail to find Nova, who in addition to having a broken leg was also very underweight.
The animal control officer gained Nova’s trust by offering the canine food.
“When we first got there, I had brought treats and food, knowing that she would probably be very food-motivated at that point,” Rupe told the outlet. “She used food to make friends and she was very friendly but skittish.”
The dog was skeptical at first, but once she smelled the food “it was all happy barking and wagging butts,” Rupe said.
“Luckily, a park ranger remembered a missing dog sign posted in the park more than a month ago” and they were able to set up a meeting with Simons-Sealy, the sheriff’s office said.
Owner Robynne Simons-Sealy posted about her meeting with Nova seven weeks after she disappeared.
Despite the harrowing experience the puppy endured, she was elated when she was reunited with Simons-Sealy, the owner said.
“When I walked up to the car it was like I was just another human being, and then she realized it and went crazy,” Simons-Sealy said. “It was so beautiful and moving and the most wonderful sound of her realizing: ‘I’m safe, I’m okay.’”
The furry friend lost 20 pounds, or a quarter of her body weight, and will have to have her broken leg amputated, Simons-Sealy said.
Nova “fell off a group of rocks, off a small cliff, and broke her right leg,” Simons-Sealy explained in a Facebook post.
Nova will no longer be able to be Simons-Sealy’s service dog, but she will still have a permanent home with the owner, who received donations from the community to cover the dog’s medical bills, she said.
“I can’t say enough about the friendliness of the people here,” Simons-Sealy said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn