Dog Custody Battle after Old Owner leaves dog for Dead on mountain...

#1
Cliffs: guy 'abandons' dog on mountain, another guy finds (8 days later) and brings the dog down. Custody battle ensues...

Link.

http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=36893

Hiker climbs 13,000ft to rescue Missy the German Shepherd after owner left it to die to save his own life - and now they're fighting over who keeps her

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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.
But Mr Ortolani says he didn't abandon the animal, an oncoming storm forced him to choose between staying by her side and perishing, or going down the mountain without her.

Scott Washburn and his wife Amanda discovered Missy on August 11, wounded and near-death atop a mound of bloodied rocks.
They gave her food and water and tried to get her out, using their first aid kit to bandage her wounds, but the animal's paws were too damaged for it to walk.

They posted a photograph of Missy on the 14ers.com, a social network for mountain climbers.
Immediately, dozens of people tapped into her plight and opted to organize a rescue for the dog - at the same time, wondering who could be so cruel as to bring an animal to the top of a mountain and leave it there.
Eight volunteers banded together to rescue Missy, launching a nine-hour mission to find and recover her. They found her just before a snowstorm was settling in and put her in an over-sized backpack to remove her from her perch.

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A veterinarian volunteered to take her in and found that the dog miraculously had no fractures, no internal injuries nor other permanent damage from the ordeal.
'Her survival and shear will to live are astounding by any measure,' Mr Washburn said.
The Washburns grew attached to the dog, but that's when her owner, 29-year-old Anthony Ortolani entered the picture - happy his dog had been saved and embarrassed he wasn't the one who came to her rescue.
'I am at a complete loss of words. My gratitude for the people involved in this is without measure,' Mr Ortolani posted on 14ers.com.
He asked for the name of the clinic Missy was being treated at so he could be reunited with her and reimburse them for healing her.

Reading the mounting messages of disdain for his treatment of the dog, he explained his actions.
'Missy was hurt during an attempt at crossing the Sawtooth. It was Missy, a friend and I,' he said.
Her injuries made it impossible for her to walk, so the two hikers tried to lower her from boulder to boulder with ropes, but she was getting hurt worse and worse.
'Eventually she just stopped standing or moving at all and I knew she was pretty badly hurt,' he said.
'I picked her up on my shoulders and was hopping from boulder to boulder but I couldn't keep her on me.'
They spent two hours trying to get her down, but with encroaching clouds and mounting fear, they made the difficult decision to leave her behind.
'I called the 911, the sheriff's office and search and rescue and I was told that it was to risky for them to send rescue crew up there for a dog,' he said, adding that 'thinking about her suffering was awful beyond words' and that he convinced himself she had died of her injuries to cope with the guilt of leaving her.
'All I can say is that I am relieved that she is okay,' he said on the message board. 'I am ashamed that it wasn't me who got her off of the mountain, I underestimated the good will and resolve of the hiking community of Colorado, and I am eternally grateful.'

He said that in the days after he left her, he searched the internet for 'dog found on Bierstadt' every days, but didn't find anything.
He had just about given up hope when he read about her heroic rescuers and her good fortune.
'I can't bring you all there to when I made that choice and what was going through my head. My kids, my friends son, a lot. I do know that I do want my Missy Girl back. I also know that there are many people that think I don't deserve her back. I can tell you that she would be very happy to see me. I have learned a lot and I am convicted to never let this happen again. Missy is getting another chance, I am asking the same,' he said.

However, now that Missy is in the care of the local law enforcement, things aren't that simple.
Mr Washburn thinks that Mr Ortolani is an unfit dog-owner and that he can offer a better life to Missy.
He said that he understands Mr Ortolani's choice to leave her, but not his choice not to return.
'My wife and I had to abandon her as well. When we found her on Saturday we knew that we would be unable to bring her out ourselves and with extremely heavy hearts we left her on a rock knowing that she may die,' Mr Washburn said.
'Despite being forced to abandon her, we came back for her.'
The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case, not to decide who the dog's rightful owner is, but whether or not Mr Ortolani is guilty of cruelty to an animal.
 
#3
Screw that guy, he people who risked their own lives to save it should keep it. The guy relied on others (sheriff ect) to get it and never took his own action, he's a pussy. I could never leave mah Chloe up there to die.
 
#4
Wo the sheriff who refused to lend assistance is now showing contempt for the owner? That's a real worthless ***! I would file suit claiming a conflict of interest on the sheriffs part. Im not saying the owner is any better, but what a load of BS.
The owner is worthless none the less. I know it's not pleasant, but he shouldn't have left that dog alive! Tie her up on your back, and haul her out, or if she were that bad, put her down.
I have had several pets, as well as hunting dogs over the years. On one occasion my dog was injured, and suffering. He was in far worse shape than this dog on the mountain, so I had little choice but to put him down. I know that may sound terrible, but I wasnt gonna let my dog suffer till he just gave out, or just leave him alone to die! I have had to have 2 pets put down in the past 6-8 years for being agressive. It's not easy, but you have to weigh the situation.
 

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#5
That's terrible. Like the other hiker said "we came back for her". The original owner abandoned her and considered her dead. Keep that thought, move on. Someone that cares more now has her. He should have went back if she supposedly meant that much.
 
#10
Yea even if I couldnt return for the Dog I would have paid any ammount to get some heros up there to get it done. Especially if it was Miller, ROOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!
 
#11
Yet another case of sideways justice, and a half *** judicial system.
So legally why would relinquishing ownership have any effect on charges? If they are so sure he neglected his duty as an owner, then taking the dog would be a null issue. If the case is so solid, they would not lower the offense in exchange for custody. He would have nothing to offer in exchange for the lesser charge.
I think we're not hearing all the details as usual, and the legal system got caught by surprise, so now it's time to bargain!
 
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