Dogs are amazing creatures and when you own one, they are simply part of the family. I can't imagine losing our dog Lucy at any point in time, especially in the mountains where so many other things can happen in terms of wildlife and things that could harm her.

According to 9News, a dog named Stella has been reunited with her owner after being lost in the Rocky Mountains for over five days. They had gotten separated while backpacking and some unexpected snow hit up in Grand County.


 

They had prepared for a few inches but more was falling, and the men who were with Stella didn't think they would be able to start a fire and get through the night with overnight temperatures expected to dip into the teens.

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So, search and rescue arrived, but the dog was scared away. While the feeling of being rescued had to be a relief, the feeling of leaving the dog behind was a feeling of "emptiness", as the dog's owner put it.

Thankfully, volunteers with search and rescue went back up and did the 14-mile round trip hike and were able to find Stella and bring her back down to safety. She got lots of hugs and kisses from her owner, Curtis Culver, who believes the dog was able to survive thanks to a backpack she was wearing that contained snacks.

We love stories like this that have happy endings, and this one is certainly right up there with some of the best we've heard and seen.

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