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Lost Dog Survives 43 Days in Rockies, Reunites With Owner After Tech-Aided Rescue

A Ring doorbell sighting revived a volunteer search that combined cameras, scent lures plus a peanut-butter-baited trap.

Overview

  • Rocky, a 10-year-old brindled mutt, fled a sitter in Montezuma, Colorado, on Dec. 28 during his owner’s cross-country move.
  • Summit Lost Pet Rescue, which reports a 99% recovery rate in 2025, deployed trail cameras and scent stations, confirming Rocky alive three days after he vanished.
  • Owner Steven Maa and his partner searched intensively for eight days before leaving to continue their move, as volunteers kept looking and the nonprofit later scaled back efforts.
  • A Feb. 9 Ring video revived the operation, prompting rescuers to lay scent trails and reset a trap with peanut butter after false starts that failed to trigger the door.
  • Rocky was captured on Feb. 13 at about 28 pounds—roughly half his normal weight—reunited with Maa, and has since resumed life in California with no reported personality changes.