Colorado Hiker Looks Up At Two Tiny Heads On A 60-Foot Cliff And Realizes They Aren’t Coyotes
A routine Colorado climbing trip turned into a daring rescue mission when a couple spotted two tiny Chihuahuas stranded on a 60-foot cliff.
A Strange Sound In The Wilderness
A couple was enjoying a peaceful climbing trip out in the rugged terrain of Colorado. They had been out in the wilderness for two days without seeing a single other person.
All day long, they kept hearing a faint, repetitive noise echoing through the canyons. It sounded like a series of little “yip, yip, yip” cries.
At first, they brushed it off as natural wildlife. They assumed there was simply a pack of little coyotes wandering nearby.
But as they continued hiking up the hill, the persistent yipping followed them. That was when they finally decided to stop and look up.
The Red Harness Reveal
High above them, peeking over the edge of an overhanging cliff, two tiny heads popped out into view.
It was a baffling sight in such an isolated and dangerous location. The husband, Brody, squinted up at the cliffside to get a better look.
He turned to his wife in disbelief and said, “That coyote’s wearing a red harness.”
They immediately started calling and hollering up to the cliff. It was suddenly clear that these weren’t wild animals at all—they were domestic dogs in desperate need of help.
Stranded In The Sky
The situation was dire. The two little Chihuahuas were trapped on top of a 60-foot cliff with no safe way down.
The terrain was incredibly steep and slippery. It almost looked as if the dogs had been dropped there by a helicopter, as there was no obvious path they could have taken to get there.
They were completely “cliffed out” and very stuck. The couple knew that if they walked away, the dogs wouldn’t survive.
Despite the scary terrain, they knew they weren’t leaving the wilderness without those pups.
Gearing Up For A Rescue
Brody bravely decided he was going to figure out a way to reach them. He began putting on his climbing gear to navigate the steep rock face.
His first attempt to find a path up proved too difficult, as he couldn’t even see the dogs from his initial vantage point.
Realizing he needed a different approach, he went back to retrieve his rope, even having to leave some of his own gear behind to make the climb work.
With his rope secured, he prepared to scale the 60-foot cliff, hoping he would be able to safely rappel back down with the dogs.
A Gentle Approach
As Brody finally crested the top of the steep terrain, he came face-to-face with the two tiny, stranded Chihuahuas.
He immediately started talking to them super gently, moving very slowly so he wouldn’t spook them near the edge of the cliff.
“Hi, buddy,” he said softly. “Oh, you are definitely good doggies.”
Instead of running away, the dogs began licking him. It was almost as if they knew he had climbed all that way just to help them.
Snacks And A Leap Of Faith
Up close, Brody could see just how much the dogs had suffered. They were very weak and incredibly skinny.
He pulled out some treats he had brought up with him, offering them to the starving pups as he tried to comfort them.
“I wish I knew your name,” he told them. “You are so skinny. Oh my god.”
He was incredibly relieved that he could actually hold them, but he knew the most important thing was getting them safely to the ground.
The Descent To Safety
Brody began the daunting task of setting up his rappel over the overhanging cliff.
Within a minute, he had cleverly secured one dog to each of his legs, ensuring they were safe for the long drop down.
He leaned back, and there was a tense moment when his feet were no longer touching the wall.
Despite dangling in the air, the two tiny dogs were perfectly behaved, trusting their rescuer completely as they descended.
Meet Meatball And Parmesan
Once Brody safely reached the base of the cliff, the couple realized they were happily abandoning all their climbing plans for the day.
They brought the two rescued Chihuahuas over to meet their own dog, whose name is Spaghetti.
Keeping with the pasta theme, they decided the new arrivals needed fitting temporary names.
“We were like, ‘Oh, this one’s obviously a Meatball, and so the other one’s got to be Parmesan,'” they joked.
A Smiling Car Ride
Unfortunately, the couple couldn’t take Meatball and Parmesan home with them permanently.
They loaded the exhausted but safe little dogs into their car to drive them to the nearest animal shelter.
During the ride, the tension of the cliff completely melted away.
At one point, they looked over and saw that Meatball had the biggest, most relieved smile on her face.
From Stranded To Safe
When they finally reached the rescue center, it was incredibly hard for the couple to say goodbye to the dogs they had worked so hard to save.
They left them in good hands, hoping the two brave pups would find the loving homes they deserved.
Luckily, a few weeks later, the couple received the best possible update: both Parmesan and Meatball had been officially adopted.
The two tiny dogs had successfully transitioned from being stranded “coyotes” on a cliff to being perfectly loved little pets.
