Dog that bolted into Colorado mountains reunited with owner after 43 days in wilderness

A beloved dog that bolted into Colorado’s Rocky Mountains was reunited with his owner after 43 days in the rugged wilderness, according to reports.

Owner Steven Maa had dropped off his 10-year-old brindled mutt, ironically named Rocky, with a pet sitter on Dec. 28 when the fido got spooked and escaped into the mountain terrain, NJ.com reported.

Maa, a New Jersey native, had stopped in Montezuma for a day of skiing while traveling to California to begin a new job when Rocky bolted and was nowhere to be found, the outlet said.

The terrified owner and his partner, Kate, searched the steep mountains during a snowstorm for Rocky, continuing into the early morning hours until they eventually contacted the nonprofit Summit Lost Pet Rescue for help.

The group instantly set up trail cameras and a “scent station” full of familiar smells to lure the pooch and blasted pictures of Rocky on social media in hopes of finding him.

“Steve [the owner] was definitely concerned that Rocky wasn’t going to survive the night,” the rescue group’s founder, Brandon Ciullo, told the outlet

“I explained to him, we’ve been doing this for 10 years. My biggest worry and concern is vehicles, then wildlife, and then environment,” Ciullo recalled.

After three days of looking for Rocky in subzero temperatures, the rescue team spotted him on a trail camera, confirming he was alive. But the pup was not located again for 40 days, the outlet said.

Maa dedicated over a week of grueling hours searching for Rocky, but made the “heart-wrenching” choice to continue his move to California.

Volunteers still scoured the mountains for Rocky every day while his heartbroken owner helped from afar — but the group had to scale down their search efforts after a few weeks.

On Feb. 9, a resident’s Ring camera shockingly captured a dog believed to be Rocky while Ciullo was on another pet rescue mission.

“I apologized to the owner and said, ‘I need to respond to Montezuma. This dog has been missing for 43 days, and I’m sure it is extremely starving and very, very close to dying.’ So, we drove up there,” Ciullo said.

Maa confirmed the photo was of Rocky, and rescuers set up a trap with more scent trails to capture the pup.

Just three hours later, Rocky scampered into the trap and slept on the blanket, but the trigger on the trap door did not close, the outlet said.

After Ciullo smeared the trap with peanut butter, Rocky came back hours later and was finally safe and secure after 43 days.

Rocky looked “super emaciated” and had lost nearly half his weight, but was otherwise in good condition and was reunited with his owner on Feb. 13.

“Getting to see Rocky and seeing how happy he was to see me was definitely very emotional,” Maa told the outlet.

Rocky is now living in California with Maa, where he has adjusted back to domestic life — far away from the mountains.

“It didn’t seem like his personality or his emotions had changed at all, so that was super comforting to see and surprising,” Maa said.

“I feel like he jumped straight back into his old personality and just being a cuddle bug.”