After hearing rumors that people heard a dog crying somewhere high atop Mt. Bross, in Colorado, Trinity Smith knew she had to try to do something.
Perhaps there was a lone dog up there who was desperate?
In the desolate landscape of the mountain there were no houses or people, so the chance that there would be a domestic dog alive was pretty slim.
Many therefore believed that the sound they were hearing at night was coming from a coyote.
But there was another reason to go ahead with her search — a dog had disappeared in the area just a few weeks earlier.
Although the chances of this being that dog they were hearing were very small, Trinity was determined to go.
And in September 2017, she went up to the mountains to search.
It didn’t take long before Trinity realized that the rumors she had heard were true.
Once she climbed up the mountain, she could clearly tell that the barking she was hearing was definitely coming from a dog.
But it was impossible to determine where the sound was coming from, she only knew it was coming from far away.
When evening came, Trinity had to head back before it got too dark.
With a better idea of what she was looking for, the next day she went out there again — this time in the company of friend Sean Nichols.
They took turns shouting for the dog as loud as they could. They continued to do so for about three hours without getting any answer.
Just when they were about to give up, they heard something familiar. A dog’s bark.
This time they could tell from which direction they were hearing it and hurried up towards it.
It didn’t take long before they came across a very thin dog lying on the ground clenching to a rock. There was no doubt that the dog was in desperate need of help.
The dog wouldn’t have made it for much longer if Trinity and Sean hadn’t found her there and then.
At the time, they didn’t know — but the dog they’d found was 14-year-old Chloe.
She had escaped during a walk with her owners six weeks earlier. After her disappearance, her owners searched for her every day for several weeks.
But it had been so long now since she went missing, that the owners had lost hope in finding their beloved dog alive.
Six weeks alone in the mountains had taken its toll on the old dog. Looking like nothing but skin and bones, she weighed only 26 pounds when Trinity and Sean found her.
The pair immediately lifted Chloe and carried her to their car. At the same time, they announced through social media that they had found the dog who was barking at night.
It wasn’t long before Chloe’s owners found out that a dog had been found in the area and contacted Trinity to see if it was theirs.
In that very moment, the two friends were on their way to the store to buy some dog food. So, they told the owners to come meet them at the parking lot outside the store — where the dog and the owners had an emotional reunion.
When an old dog loses as much weight as Chloe did, there is always a risk that its body will never recuperate and possibly shut down. But this is one strong gal. Although it’s only been a few days since she was rescued, she has already shown great signs of improvement.
Trinity and Sean have visited Chloe in her home and they have become really good friends. She still has quite some time left before she is completely healthy again but something tells me that this dog will live for many years. If you manage six weeks alone up on that mountain, then you can do just about everything!
Many thanks to Trinity and Sean who refused to give up and saved this dog! It’s animal lovers like you guys who make this world a better place.