Back in September we reported on a hiker, Anthony Ortolani, age 29, who left his injured dog to die on top of one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks - Colorado Hiker Abandoned Injured Dog to Die.
Anthony Ortolani, 29, was climbing with a friend on Mount Bierstadt with his 5-year-old German Shepherd / Rottweiler mix back on August 5th when a storm rolled in. On the climb Ortolani’s dog Missy had cut up her paws on sharp rocks and was unable to continue to walk. Ortolani said that he and his 19-year-old friend tried to carry the 112-pound dog for more than two hours on the treacherous terrain before making the difficult decision to abandon the dog in order to save themselves.
Yesterday, Ortolani was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and 30 hours of community service. It’s part of a plea agreement, avoiding the possible 18 months in jail and $5,000 fine he could have received for animal cruelty.
“We think that the consequences greatly outweighed his conduct.” said Jay Swearingen, Ortolani’s attorney.
DO YOU AGREE?
DOG MURDERER!!!!
the dog didn’t die….idiot
I eat dogs anyway
I would have eaten it
Along with the fine and probation he deserves a swift kick to the nads!
All you tree hugging PETA people need to open your fucking eyes
?
i farted
Have a little empathy for the guy.
No.
I bet all you guys would have left the dog to save your own life.. especially fishheads
And I bet all of us would have gone back the next day once our physical and emotional condition had improved.
never would leave my dog. if you love your dog you would carry that bastard down no matter the weather. otherwise your a pussy!
I would also save my pussy… cat.
good looking dog, I’d be happy to adopt it too
Abandoned? The dog could have followed if capable, right, but he/she evidently did not have the will? Don’t PEOPLE get left to their own means on extreme peaks all the time if they can’t hack it, and there is no repercussion to those that leave them behind, right? Why is this any different? If it were me and my dog, and I had continued on, my dog would have never stayed behind unless she was so close to death she was not going to make it otherwise. Free will and drive to survive. This is the court system overreaching WELL outside their bounds…
Bet that dog wouldn’t have left him to die.
Leave your dog at home and take him for a walk when you get back.
F@#kface Anthony needs to be beaten and left in a dumpster for shit like that.
You are so wrong! How can you sit there and compare a dog to a human being? When people get abandoned on Everest it is accepted because they made the conscious decision to be there and risk their own life. A dog is not capable of making such educated decisions. It merely knows to follow and obey its master. Being that the guy took his dog up the hill, he should be 100% responsible for making sure it gets back down. Fucking pussy deserves every bit of his punishment.
People now a days and their empathy for dogs is so weird. I think dogs are great, but I also think that a human being is more important than a dog. This man should never have been punished for what he did.
Whether you like dogs or not, cruelty to animals is against the law. He was irresponsible and pathetic. Probably thought having a big dog made him look tough. What a weenie.
How the fuck was this guy being cruel to his dog? any dog i know would have loved to run up a mountain and be outside in general. YOU ARE NOT SMART….and i bet you live in a big fucking city and dont get out much. and if you do you brag about how you walked up a hill and camped by a pond. I bet you my left nut you wouldnt be able to carry a full grown German/rot 100 lb dog down a rocky mountain. you think he wanted to leave it?? suck some balls.
You are probably not a dog owner. If you are, I feel nothing but extremely sorry and afraid for your dog. I can’t believe this is even a debate for people…
This ain’t everest this is Mt Bierstadt. Colorado Tourism recommends it as an easy hike. 95% of the people who hike there daily have truly no idea what they’re doing. And he did nothing to try and save his dog when he very easily could have. The Mt Evans highway is literally 30 minutes away. And the trailhead is barely an hour. Trust me this man is a complete dumbass.
This ain’t everest this is Mt Bierstadt. Colorado Tourism recommends it as an easy hike. 95% of the people who hike there daily have truly no idea what they’re doing. And he did nothing to try and save his dog when he very easily could have. The Mt Evans highway is literally 30 minutes away. And the trailhead is barely an hour. Trust me this man is a complete dumbass.
its still animal cruelty, no matter what YOU think. The dogs paws were so torn up it couldn’t walk, have you ever even been on a mountain, they’re pretty rocky? Don’t answer that. If anyone can be prosecuted for animal cruelty, this guy sure deserved it
its a fucking dog who cares
exactly.. i love dogs as well but I’m saving my own ass before some pooch without question.
Anonymous, Hopefully you would be smart enough not to bring your dog up there if you would save your own ass before some pooch. He wasn’t. He brought his dog with him so he is 100% responsible to make sure HIS dog gets down. He left the dog up there for a while, a few days, I think before rescuers decided to go after it. If he was such a bad ass climber and mountaineer then he probably hangs out with bad ass climbers and mountaineers. He could have asked for help from his bad ass friends and gone up the next day, but he didn’t. He let someone else take care of his mistake. I was so happy to read that the dog was taken away from him and adopted by one of his rescuers. Anthony doesn’t deserve to have a dog.
I do.
I care too…
Fuck this guy. Yeah, you could leave the dog to save your own ass but GO BACK FOR IT WHEN IT’S SAFE. At least have the respect after you leave your companion to die to go back and get their body. The guy didn’t leave the dog any water (if he’s a responsible owner he’d have a portable dish the dog could drink out of while hiking) or food. He just left the dog to die. Say what you want but this guy deserves more than what he was sentenced with. He should feel lucky. Hate all you want on this post, but if you’re going to haul your dog into the wilderness like that, you need to be ready to extricate them if they get injured regardless of the weather conditions.
well the guy reported that his dog was still up there. ‘abandoned’ is a strong word. the sheriff’s office did try but the weather was too dangerous. honestly, people sometimes get left up there on the high peaks. its the mountains, not a fucking playground. sometimes things go to shit.
I think people who dont have the proper experience underestimate how difficult it is to bring along dogs on big hikes. The dogs run around all over the place, way off the trail and chase everything on the way up, and by the time you summit and turn around, they have zero energy. Dogs (most, not all) do not understand the concept of pacing themselves, so it is the owners responsibilty to be absolutley positive that they are not putting their dogs at risk. Would you hike barefoot among the monster talus feilds of the Front Range? Cause these guys asked their dog to do just that.
100%.
Bet that dog wouldn’t have left him to die.
Leave your dog at home and take him for a walk when you get back.
F@#kface Anthony needs to be beaten and left in a dumpster for shit like that.
dogs aren’t people.
Dipshit^
I think his feet should cut, drop him in a storm & let search & rescue flip a coin. Whether or not to rescue. Dogs r like kids would u leave your child. What a dick. I would carry my dog til I couldn’t anymore, then we would eat the stupid friendto survive. This guy should get the same sentence he gave his dog.
Your dumb. Comparing dogs to children? Would you carry your kid till you could not and then eat it to survive? Eat a giant bag of Dick, you are Stupid. Really dumd comparison
dumb is spelled with a B… less drinking more reading
I can appreciate that
Wasn’t this guy on a hiking trail in Colorado? It’s not some remote first accent in uncharted countries. We are talking a well marked trail. If you can’t carry a 100# dog than you are not fit to be in the mountains. Either build a shelter and sit out the weather or carry the dog. There were two capable humans.
I found two dogs lost in lone peak cirque in the wasatch. My friend and I carried TWO dogs, climbing gear and camping gear over boulder fields down to the valley.
Liar
That dog would eat YOU up there when the times get tough!!!
its a dog, its an animal. animals die all the time in the wild because of little injuries like this. does it suck that he left the dog? yea, but jesus christ it isnt like this dude murdered someone. get over it.
derr retard
Bringing a couch dog that far is not right, sad. If his dog had been travelling long distances on trails regularly, this would not have occurred.
I’d leave the dog to save my own life, but I would get help once I got down and/or go back for it. How could you just leave your dog and not try? Heartless in my opinion.
Isnt this where sarah mcglocklin starts singing that song…In the arms of an angel…lol Pretty sure there is a kid out there who is getting beaten and abused who deserves the states, courts, rescuers and willing adoptees real attention just a little more. I love animals, but they will always come second and take a back seat to people in need. Even ones who dont deserve it. Even more messed up most people wouldnt climb into the ghetto to save a child because it doesnt pump their ego or their hobby. Might as well be just as convicted over a box of mac and cheese news worthy douche bags!
Wanna see what kind of guy this is? Okay, he tells the next 50 first dates he goes on that he was this guy. Length of list of people who want to spend the rest of their life with that person… End of story. Moral: take care of your friends,, always. Hope you deserve and can expect that from your friends. Love.
Well at least the dog has better owners now, kinda think he got off easy with out the animal cruelty charges of abandonment as he did (dog was up there for 8 days no food or water) and didn’t even try with in those days to organize a rescue for the dog, instead some strangers up there found her and decided to save it. Also German Shepherds aren’t much of outdoor dogs, their hips can give them problems and can’t really handle steep terrain well, more of a working class dog, not saying they can’t go on hikes I take my GSD out on hikes all the time just got to take it a little easier with em.
When I go hiking with my dog, I take a lawyer. Hey You can dine on him for months, and on-one would’ve cared
i would have cut that dog and cooked him in my solar oven to nourish myself for the hike down
And people who smoke weed get 10x worse?!
I am confused on what the charges were. Was it leaving the dog? Or was it the situation leading up to leaving the dog for letting the paws get chewed up as much as they did without having first aid supplies or ‘booties’ for the dog or realizing they should turn around sooner because the dog was uncomfortable?
It was the court system seeing a situation off of which they could make some fast cash. And a guy with an incompetent-prolly court appointed lawyer.
dillrton4200 the saddest thing is you are not aware of how severely stupid you are. You aren’t just a little stupid or misinformed, you are the definition of stupid. Please do yourself and our society a favor and never reproduce. Or vote. Or speak, ever again, about something you literally know absolutely nothing about. Prolly.
So much judgment based off so little facts. It sucks but to be honest noon of us know the whole story.
Screw dogs.
Bierstadt is a 7 mile round trip to the summit and back. He was an hour and a half downhill walk from his car. This guy is just a wuss and an asshole.