My name is Cal and my partner Sean and I are thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and two weeks ago two dogs popped out of nowhere and started following us. One was a large black lab and the other was a small furry mut. At first they barked and we were scared of them but when they saw we were friendly they became friendly too. We figured that eventually they’d turn around and go back from wherever it was they came from but they followed us for miles - 14 miles - into the night.
They didn’t seem to have any interest in going home, if such a place even existed. It was dark and late when we setup our tent and they lingered around outside. We didn’t want them to be cold so we let them sleep inside the tent with us and they fell right asleep.
In the morning we unzipped the tent and let them out. Surely now they would go home. They stood and watched as we packed up our tent and gear and when we started walking they did too. They followed us 10 miles into town - right into our hotel room where they would stay while we figured out who their rightful owners were.
They had no identification on them whatsoever. We took them to the vet to see if they had microchips - negative. We called boarding facilities, filed police reports, and posted on Facebook. No one claimed the dogs.
The police offered to call animal control but we know that means certain death for homeless dogs. From the looks of them, no one cared much. The owners couldn’t be bothered to give them collars or microchips or even get them fixed. When we took them to the only vet in town to get a physical the vet had never seen them before.
They were both dirty and had red rashes and bumps all over. The little one had a bunch of matted fur and poop all over him. They both had immense separation anxiety which is why they latched onto us so fast and the big dog acted as if he’d been abused. These dogs were clearly neglected.
We briefly discussed what to do but the answer was clear. These dogs chose us out of the dozens of hikers passing by. It was now our turn to choose them.
They have been hiking well with us and they love being on trail. We love having them and making a home for them every day in the place they love to be - outside. We intend to give them the best lives possible but having two stray dogs on trail was not in our budget.
Please donate any amount you can to help us keep Truman and Monkey with us on trail. Some of the costs of keeping strays safely on trail include
Physical exam
Vaccines
Neutering
Microchips
Grooming
Food
Collars
Leashes
ID Tags
Dog backpacking gear
Vet checkups
THANK YOU
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