Redeem now - A 71-year-old man and his dog went missing on a hike up a Colorado mountain months ago.
- The hiker was found dead and his dog, Finney, was miraculously found alive next to the man's body.
- Finney, a Jack Russell Terrier, has since been reunited with her family, officials said.
It's just more proof that dogs really are man's best friend.
A truly loyal Jack Russell Terrier named Finney apparently stayed by her owner's side after the duo set out to hike a Colorado mountain months ago — even after he died.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.Hiker Rich Moore, 71, of Pagosa Springs was discovered dead late last month — and Finney was found alive near Moore's body, according to authorities and a rescue group.
Finney's "loyalty and the testament to the fact that this dog stayed with this person that long is just a beautiful story that is on the other side of a very sad tragedy," Taos Search and Rescue group member Delinda VanneBrightyn told Business Insider in an interview on Tuesday.
Moore and his dog had been missing since August 19 after they started a journey to summit Blackhead Peak, located in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, the volunteer search and rescue group said.
Search teams and personnel looked for Moore and Finney for nearly 2,000 hours, but they weren't found until a local hunter came across Moore's body and the white dog on Oct. 30, according to the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office.
The next day search crews were flown into the area. They recovered Moore's body and discovered Finney alive, the sheriff's office said. Finney was then taken to a local veterinarian hospital to be treated.
She's since been reunited with her family, according to the sheriff's office.
VanneBrightyn responded to the initial search for Moore, along with her certified K9 AkioYodasan.
VanneBrightyn and the search group expressed their condolences to Moore's family in a Facebook post, but said they were "glad they were able to gain some closure as well as bring their dog back home."
"Our team, Taos Search and Rescue, wants to send condolences to Rich's family and that in the midst of a terrible human tragedy we are also grateful that they still have this heroic dog that was part of Rich's life with them," VanneBrightyn told BI.
VanneBrightyn also told BI that it is believed Finney managed to survive for months by drinking water from a nearby stream and hunting down small animals like rodents.
When Moore and Finney set out on the hike, the dog was 12 pounds, but when Finney was finally found she was half that size at 6 pounds, VanneBrightyn said.
"So I don't think [she] was eating that well," said VanneBrightyn, who explained that the water source was "crucial" to Finney's survival.
Moore's cause of death was not immediately known, but the sheriff's office said that foul play is not suspected.
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