On November 22nd, 2021, a rescue operation was kicked off to save a stray dog stranded near the top of the third-highest mountain in North America.
Apparently, this dog followed climbers up the mountain and then remained there for weeks, with no food or water, in freezing temperatures.
After being informed about the dog by a local animal shelter, climber Hilario “Layo” Aguilar, put together a rescue mission to save the pup, whom they named Canelo.
A Daring Rescue Operation
Canelo managed to get himself stranded on Pico de Orizaba, an 18,491-foot, dormant volcano in the south of Veracruz, Mexico. Some pups just really love seeing the sights, like any of us.
Aguilar’s rescue operation, which was posted on his Facebook and reported by Outside Online, was quite courageous, especially considering that Aguilar didn’t know this dog at all.
Certainly, many of us would scale a mountain for our beloved dog. But would you do it for a dog you don’t know?
We think that’s pretty rad of him.
Locating Canelo On A Massive Mountain
With a team of 30, Aguilar scaled the mountain to find Canelo, locating him near the summit. A dog stranded for weeks didn’t take much convincing to come along. A bit of food and water did the trick.
“He responded to the language of a human puppy,” wrote Aguilar, in his Facebook post. “My friends took out food and we gave [it to] him, he was very hungry. A friend took out a thermos with water and he almost finished it.”
Part of the reason why Canelo couldn’t descend the mountain on his own is because of the incredibly harsh and rugged terrain. In order to get him down, the rescue group bundled and strapped him into a backpack and carried him out.
“Hopefully all the puppies in the mountains are lucky enough to be Canelos and be rescued,” Aguilar further wrote in his post.
Once off the mountain, Canelo was taken to a local animal hospital for a thorough check-up. All signs point to him making a full recovery, with quite the adventure under his belt.
Offers from potential families, eager to adopt the courageous pup, have been pouring in.
If you’d like to take your own dog hiking, whether in mountainous terrain or anywhere else, then you should check out DogTime’s full guide to safely hiking with your dog here!
Are you glad to see Canelo safe and ready to go to a forever home? Would you put together a rescue operation to save a stranded stray dog? Then let us know in the comments below.
