Climber Who Abandoned Dog on Mountain Gives Up Effort to Regain Custody

By DAILY MAIL

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Climber Who Abandoned Dog on Mountain Gives Up Effort to Regain Custody

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September 17, 2012 Updated Sep 17, 2012 at 3:47 PM PDT

The Colorado climber who abandoned his injured dog on a mountain to save his own life has agreed to give up the German Shepherd to one of its rescuers - who has renamed her 'Lucky'.

Anthony Ortolani, 29, left the dog, whom he called Missy, on Bierstadt Mountain last month after a storm moved in and the 112-pound dog was unable to walk due to lacerations on her paws.

Eight days later, a group of hikers found the dog and brought her down the mountain - and insisted they should gain custody of her.

Ortolani fought to keep her but after receiving an onslaught of death threats and being charged with animal cruelty, he has now said one of the rescuers, John Steed, can have custody of her.

'I don't want to give her up. I love her, but those people risked life and limb to get her out of there, and that has got to be worth something,' he said at a news conference on Sunday

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