A man hiking through a remote canyon rescues a dog who was left for dead at the bottom of the canyon. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
It's one of the most heartbreaking videos you'll ever see.
A puppy was found by an explorer in a canyon deep beneath the earth's surface, all skin and bones, trapped in the rocky tomb.
"I saw him and my heart just sank," Zak Anderegg told INSIDE EDITION.
Now the haunting question is did someone throw him into the canyon? Did they deliberately abandon him?
Puppy, as he's called, has his own Facebook page to help find him a new owner.
The dramatic story starts when climber Zak Anderegg is on a solo vacation, exploring canyons in Arizona. He was shooting video to show his wife later. Sometimes the terrain was so striking, it looks like another planet.
"Somewhere down there is, hopefully, the bottom," Zak recorded.
Zak can't believe his eyes when 350 feet down one canyon he discovered the emaciated puppy.
"He was so weak his head came up, he opened his mouth, he tried to make a sound, and he collapsed," Zak told INSIDE EDITION.
Still stunned at his find, Zak gave the puppy food and water on some paper plates he's brought along.
"There's no way I'm just gonna let him die without at least trying to help him," Zak said.
But Zak didn't have the equipment necessary to rescue the animal, so he reluctantly left the puppy for the time being and climbed out of the canyon to get more gear.
"This is where the dog is. You can't even see the bottom. I don't believe he got there on his own, the more and more I think about this, someone put this dog there," Zak said to his video camera.
The next day, having obtained a pet carrier from a local animal hospital, Zak headed back to the site.
You can tell how deep the canyon is as Zak eased his way down. Half way there, Zak spotted the puppy lying on a blue blanket he'd left for him.
"I am absolutely praying he's still alive." He was just barely alive.
Zak got the puppy into the pet carrier. 30 minutes later, they made it to the top unscathed and headed to the animal hospital.
Fast forward to today. The dog, nicknamed Puppy, is recovering from his ordeal. He's putting on weight, and a vet near Zak's home in Salt Lake City is keeping an eye on him.
Zak's wife, Michelle, is thrilled. "It just warms my heart how well he's doing. Every single day we're seeing an improvement," Michelle said.
Zak and Michelle say they can't keep Puppy so they're putting him up for adoption.
And the story of just how he ended up in that rocky tomb is forever lost in the canyon walls.
Puppy, as he's called, has his own Facebook page to help find him a new owner.
