The German shepherd suffered extensive injuries during the eight days he spent in the wild

Aug 21, 2012 09:07 GMT  ·  By

Recently, hikers in the mountainous regions of Colorado came across an abandoned German shepherd, which apparently had spent several days alone in the wild, judging by the extensive injuries it suffered.

Thanks to people who agreed to offer a helping hand, and trained mountaineers, the animal was rescued from the woods and taken to a veterinarian, who took care of treating both its severe dehydration and its lacerations.

After tracking down Missy's owner, local authorities decided that they have little choice but to charge him with the violation of animal rights and animal cruelty, as it seems that he purposely left his German shepherd alone in the mountainous region where it was found several days later.

The owner defended himself claiming that he was forced to abandon Missy because of an upcoming storm, and because at that time he had to make sure he and a teenager he was hiking with got to safety.

Luckily, the dog is now safe and should make a full recovery.