Rescue group saves dog that fell 600 feet from Colorado 14er

When Alpine Rescue Team responded to a call around 1 p.m. Sunday, July 2, about a dog that had fallen from Torreys Peak, a 14,000-foot summit just east of Summit County, the pet owners had no idea if the dog was alive.

Zola, the 3-year-old Aussiedoodle had gone off the east side of the Colorado 14er, “which is pretty sheer,” according to rescue group member and spokesperson Jake Smith, but the dog’s owners didn’t know how far the dog had fallen or where it was exactly located.

“There was definitely a part of them that was probably preparing for the worst,” Smith said. “When we met them at the top, they were pretty somber. As they learned the dog was alive and we were going to move forward with the rescue, I think they were pretty ecstatic.”