


A lost service dog in training survived for nearly two months in frigid weather and with a broken leg — before hikers found her near a Colorado mountain trail and helped reunite her with her disabled owner, according to reports.
Nova Riley — a 14 month old Bernese Mountain Dog who had been training to help owner Robynne Simons-Sealy move around — was missing for seven weeks after she got startled in a parking lot and slipped out of her harness, her owner Robynne Simons-Sealy told the Boulder Daily Camera.
“She survived two snow storms and below-freezing weather,” Simons-Sealy told the outlet. “I was in tears every time it snowed.”
On Nov. 19, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, two hikers found the frightened pooch with one of her legs broken near a trail in Meyer Ranch Park, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Nova bit one of the two hikers as they “attempted to carry the wounded pet down the mountain,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
So one of the hikers stayed with the dog while the other went to meet the rescuers to show them where the dog was located.
The bitten hiker wasn’t seriously injured and didn’t need stitches, the Daily Camera reported, citing Animal Control Officer Kylie Rupe.
Rupe and three rangers had to hike three miles up the mountain trail to find Nova — who in addition to having a broken leg was also severely underweight.
The animal control officer earned Nova’s trust by offering the canine food.
“When we first got up there I had brought treats and food up with me, knowing she would probably be very food-motivated at that point,” Rupe told the outlet. “I used food to make friends, and she was very friendly but skittish.”
The dog was skeptical at first but once she smelled the food “it was all happy barks and wiggly butts,” Rupe said.
“As luck would have it, a ranger remembered a lost dog poster posted in the park over a month ago” and they were able to arrange a meet up with Simons-Sealy, the sheriff’s office said.
Despite the harrowing experience the pup endured, she was ecstatic when she was reunited with Simons-Sealy, the owner recounted.
“When I walked up to the car it was like I was just another human being, and then she realized and she went crazy,” Simons-Sealy said. “It was so beautiful and so heartwarming and the most wonderful sound of her realizing, ‘I’m safe, I’m okay.’”
The furry friend lost 20 pounds — or a quarter of her body weight — and will have to have her broken leg amputated, Simons-Sealy said.
Nova “fell off an out cropping of boulders, a slight cliff, and broke her right leg,” Simons-Sealy explained in a Facebook post.
Nova will no longer be able to be Simons-Sealy’s service dog but she will still have a forever home with the owner who has received community donations for the medical bills for the pooch, she explained.
“I can’t say enough about the kindness of people here,” Simons-Sealy said.