Adventurer finds and saves unexpected treasure in canyon - a dog

Page - Call Zak Anderegg a sucker for a cute puppy-dog face, but when he found a young dog stuck deep down in the depths of a narrow Utah canyon, he just had to do something to save the pup.

No one knows how the pup got into the canyon, but it was near death when Zak came across the helpless animal. Zak has come to decide the dog was deliberately placed in the canyon. The young animal was near death when he found it, so Anderegg set out to save the dog, KSL reported Wednesday. Anderegg reasoned the dog was deliberately placed into the canyon, because it was 350 feet below the surface when he found it, and had no broken bones. Anderegg was canyoneering, a sport defined as 'travelling through canyons.' The rugged sport involves more than an element of danger, and Utah has been blessed with a natural abundance of canyons to explore. Anderegg appears to have been canyoneering alone, something that is taboo. Deseret News has a video clip from Anderegg documenting his climb down the canyon, and the discovery of the dog. The hero of the story told Deseret News that when he went to the closest town, Page Arizona, for help getting the dog out of the canyon, he was told emergency personnel would not assist.

"They told me flat-out, 'We're certainly not going to send out the fire department or the sheriff's department to help you.' So I said, 'All right, I'll manage on my own.'"

After hauling the dog out, it went to the Page Animal Hospital for care. Not only starving, the pup was found to be ill with distemper, although the dog has since received a clean bill of health and is recovering from its ordeal nicely. A fund called the Angel Fund covered most of the vet bill for the dog. Anderegg is looking for a new home for the dog, which is living in his shop for now. He and his wife, Michelle, already have a dog and two cats. The Page Animal Hospital set up the Angel Fund

"... to help cover some of the expenses we have treating homeless pets. While we refrain from actively soliciting funds for this cause, we gladly accept any and all charitable donations."

Anderegg is encouraging people to donate to the Angel Fund.