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?