A man’s best friend to the end: How loyal Jack Russell, Finney, guarded her dead owner Rich Moore’s body for nearly 3 months in the Colorado mountains until rescuers found her weighing just 6lb with her collar drooping off of her neck

• Rich Moore, 71, and his black and white Jack Russell, Finney, disappeared on a hike on August 19 in Blackhead Peak, located in the San Juan Mountains 
• The dog was still wearing her purple collar, but she was so skinny it was drooping off of her neck after losing half her body weight surviving off insects 

A loyal dog stayed by her dead owner’s side for nearly three months on a hiking trail – and the starving pup weighed just 6lb after surviving on insects and fending for herself in the Colorado mountains.  

Rich Moore, 71, and his black and white Jack Russell, Finney, disappeared on a hike on August 19 in Blackhead Peak, located in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. 

The arduous search for Rich and his dog was the ‘most comprehensive’ in the Sherriff’s team’s history – and despite having other K9s searching for Finney and handlers calling out his name in the mountains, it did not lead to a sighting. 

The missing man’s body was then discovered by a local hunter on October 30 in the Lower Blanco drainage basin – and by a miracle, little Finney was still by his side. 

Rescuers who had come to collect Moore’s body were able to coax loyal Finney away from his remains with a can of dog food – after loyally sticking by for three months.

The gaunt dog was still wearing her purple collar with ‘Finney’ written on the tag, but the personnel said that she was so skinny it was drooping off of her neck.

Finney, who had most likely had to fend off other wildlife during the fraught 72 days and nights alone in the mountains, had long scars on her nose. The pup was starving to the point that she gripped on to the can of food with her teeth, refusing to let go and savoring every bite, because she had most likely been surviving on insects and chipmunks for the past three months

Rich Moore, 71, and his black and white Jack Russell, Finney. The arduous search for Rich and his dog was the most comprehensive in the team’s history – and despite having other K9s searching for Finney and handlers calling out his name in the mountains, it did not lead to a sighting

Finney, who had most likely had to fend off other wildlife during the fraught 72 days and nights alone in the mountains, had long scars on her nose.

It was only when the team offered starving Finney a can of wet beef dog food that she came close, and was able to be captured in a blanket by Roy Vega, Archuleta County’s Deputy Director of Emergency Management.  

The pup was starving to the point that she gripped on to the can of food with her teeth, refusing to let go and savoring every bite, because she had most likely been surviving on insects and chipmunks for the past three months. 

And the only source of water for Finney to drink from was a nearby spring.  

As a result, Finney’s body weight had halfed – and she weighed just six pounds.  

The search for the hiker was called off on September 22, after 2,100 hours. Teams had used nine dogs and five choppers, as well as 175 flight and ground crews to find him. 

Ryan Foster, the sheriff’s emergency management commander, told the Gazette: ‘The day they found him there was a wildland fire, and then a call came in. A hunter messaged his son in town that he had found a body and a dog.

‘I called the sheriff and I said ‘I think we’ve found Rich.’

Now, Dana Holby lays her husband’s clothes all over the house so that Finney can smell him. And she lets the little dog nuzzle her snout on her pillow at night

‘It comes in that the dog is alive. And that the hunter was unable to round her up because she was skittish. We were like ‘No way, this is incredible!’ 

He said that cheers and high fives were given out among the team, because although they had lost Rich, they said it was a miracle that his dog was still alive.  

Dana Holby, Richard’s wife of 34 years, had not slept in two and a half months when she received a knock at the door from a sherriff telling her the news.

In an interview with The Denver Gazette, she said: ‘I’m just grateful that she was with him. Rich did not want to get old. He wanted to climb mountains until he couldn’t, so here we are.’

Holby said that she had often warned her husband to not hike in Blackhead Peak alone.  

The tiny dog was ‘a little light at the end of the tunnel,’ Sheriff Mike Le Roux said.

Now, Holby lays her husband’s clothes all over the house so that Finney can smell him – and she lets the little dog nuzzle her snout on her pillow at night.

The two of them, who have ‘saved each other from sorrow’ now go everywhere together.

Rich Moore with his wife of 34 years, Dana Holby

The day after Moore’s body was found, members from the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue were flown into the area to recover the victim

The hiking route to Blackhead’s 12,500-foot summit is approximately three miles with an elevation gain of 2,500 feet. 

The road to the peak is described as ‘rough, rocky, and steep, but the last stretch is an unmaintained’ social trail.

The day after Moore’s body was found, members from the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue were flown into the area to recover the victim. 

Moore’s cause of death has not been disclosed, but authorities said that foul play was not suspected, The Denzer Gazette reported.

Moore was from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and was trying to hike a mountain just to the east.

Taos Search and Rescue wrote about the recovery efforts on their Facebook page. 

Delinda Vanne-Brightyn, a member of the group, detailed her experience trying to locate Moore. In the post, she wrote that she responded to the initial search along with her certified K9 dog named Akio Yodasan.

‘We searched from just under the peak-top and directly west, searching down the mountain toward where his car was located,’ Vanne-Brightyn wrote. 

She spoke about the weather and the conditions she and the team faced. ‘Winds were directly from the West/Southwest,’ she wrote. 

‘It was so steep, were inserted by helicopter. He was found 2.5 miles east of the mountain-top beneath where we were inserted [by helicopter].’

She expressed her condolences to the family and wrote that they were ‘glad they were able to gain some closure as well as bring their dog back home.’ 

Others went online to express their condolences to the family and shared what a special dog Finney was, and shared their gratitude to the search and rescue teams.

‘Amazing that the dog stayed with him. They are truly man’s best friend,’ someone wrote.

‘Kudos to the search team for their tenacity,’ wrote another.

‘Thank you for rescuing them and thank you Buddy for staying with him!’

While another wrote how ‘sad’ the ordeal was but was grateful that Moore was not alone. They wrote, in part, ‘dogs are faithful he did not die alone’.

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