Owner who left German Shepherd in CO Mtn is convicted - Page 1

Finally some justice for the dog who was left in the CO mtns to fend for herself. The owner was convicted of animal cruelty.

Hopefully, the sentencing includes some restriction preventing him from having another animal for at least a few years. 

Were there any fines? Jail time? What was his punishment?

It's about time the law went in the favor of the animal. 

I think they took it easy on him, as he was very remorseful. He also thought the dog would have died during the first night, and there was no sense in looking for her.

I'd say it was a matter of ignorance rather than deliberate cruelty. He did try his best to get her off the mountain on that first day, but bad weather was moving in, and he feared for the safety of the young man who was with him.

Lots of things he could have done differently though, like not taking an unfit, overweight dog up there in the first place...

I'm just glad he was found guilty, because that means there is no way he has a chance of getting the dog back. She deserves to be with the rescuers who love her and saved her. 

I went to the 14ers site, to see if there was more detail to this.... but all I discovered was the site owner apparently felt it necessary to add a separate pet forum to the mountaineering site... seems staying on topic is hard to do.... all over! LOL

Ill look for the info again

Anthony Ortolani pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty Tuesday for leaving his 5-year-old dog, Missy, on a Colorado mountain. He admitted leaving his dog on Mount Bierstadt in August after first trying to carry the injured dog down in bad weather.

After she was treated by a veterinarian, Missy was taken into the custody of Clear Creek County while animal cruelty charges were investigated and then laid against Ortolani.

After several weeks in a kennel at Clear Creek County Missy was handed over to John Steed, one of the people who rescued her. Ortolani initially wanted Missy back, but said he changed his mind and agreed to let the dog go to the rescuer.

Ortolani could spend as much as 18 months in jail and faces a fine of $5000. Sentencing is set for Nov. 20.

I don't much care about the jail time--he just gets to live off the local taxpayers during that time.  The fine is cool, and surprisingly high (since these cases too often have a maximum fine of about $100).  But what I REALLY want is for him to not be permitted to have any animal in his care again for a significant period of time...and I think he ought to have to do community service by cleaning kennels & cages @ the local animal shelter for a while, too, instead of doing jail time.