The owner of a 5-year-old German shepherd that was left at the summit of Mount Bierdstadt last August was sentenced on Tuesday.
Anthony Ortolani pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty in October after it was discovered he had left his dog Missy at the top of a 14,060-foot mountain. Missy was left to fend for herself on the mountain's rocky summit for eight days.
Ortolani was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation and 30 hours of community service as part of a plea agreement, avoiding any time in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Hikers discovered the 112-pound dog alone on Mount Bierdstadt with bloodied paws and coordinated a volunteer effort. They were able to carry her down safely in a backpack over about nine hours.
"My wife broke down crying at the thought of leaving the dog to die," Scott Washburn, who found Missy during a hike with his wife Amanda, told 7News.
After his dog was rescued, Ortolani came forward and asked to have her back but Clear Creek County authorities charged him with animal cruelty instead.
Ortolani told the media in September that he had received death threats even after agreeing to turn over the dog to one of her rescuers.
The dog has been renamed "Lucky" by one of her rescuers and new owner.