Colorado: Anthony Ortolani charged with animal cruelty for abandoning German Shepherd on mountain

COLORADO -- A man who left his dog at the summit of Mount Bierstadt will face animal-cruelty charges.

Anthony Joseph Ortolani is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16, according to a Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office media release.

The charge was filed after the Sheriff's Office completed an investigation into the "abandoned and injured" dog found this month on Mount Bierstadt, a Colorado fourteener.

The dog is named Missy, but rescuers started calling her Lucky. Missy was stranded for eight days before two hikers found her close to death and bloodied. A veterinarian checkup after the rescue showed no permanent injuries, according to the 14ers .com website.

A group of volunteers rescued the dog, a German shepherd, who was spotted wandering at an elevation of about 13,000 feet. She was carried off the mountain Monday.

Ortolani said on the website that he was forced to leave the dog on the mountain when a storm was moving in and the dog couldn't walk because of blisters. Ortolani says had a younger hiker with him and was worried about descending safely.

He thanked the rescuers and begged forgiveness, but the rescue and the owner's explanations sparked an angry, heated debate on the website over whether Ortolani deserved to get his dog back.

(Denver Post - August 17, 2012)