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Many people fill their time will adventuring in crazy places. There are tons of people who dare to travel into deep caverns, remote forests, and even deep sea diving. In this story, a certain daredevil ended up having his adventurous trek change course completely.
Daredevil By Heart
Zachary Anderegg is known for his adventurous lifestyle. Ever since he was a kid, he was always out in nature exploring local forests and learning about the ecosystem. As he grew older, he was spending nearly every moment of his freetime hiking and mountain climbing. It became a true passion for him, and one ultimate goal he had was to explore the deepest parts of The Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon
Exploring and trekking in nature was Anderegg’s favorite thing to do. He and his friends were pro’s at rock climbing and hiking, and they never ran into any problems. They were able to take incredible pictures of their hikes. One hike to the Grand Canyon ended up completely changing things.
Things Took a Twist
Anderegg had explored the Grand Canyon dozens of times. It started with guided tours, then going off on his own in the more populated area, and then he and his friends would get deeper and deeper. On a particular hike on June 20th, 2010, he ended up discovering something that would completely change his life…
Morning Of
The morning of June 20th was beautiful, crisp, and book. Anderegg decided last minute to go for a hike in order to get his day going. It was the perfect dry day, and he knew that it was going to be a good hike. Little did he know that he would be stumbling upon a great discovery.
Into the Canyons
On this particular morning, he would be traveling alone. He didn’t always go alone, but this felt like the perfect day for a solo trip. He got to the Canyon and went on his usual route. Then, he found another way that went even deeper and ended up taking that. The gaps between the walls were closing in the more he went down, and the light began to get dim…
Getting Dark
As he descended, there was just enough light for him to see with his own eyes. He knew that he was getting pretty deep and made mental notes on how to get out. This was unchartered territory for him, but that doesn’t mean he was going to stop! He was excited to be exploring such mysterious depths…
Surprises
The deeper he went, the more surprises he saw. As he went in, the walls were caving in and it got nearly pitch black. Then, as he continued to trek through, it got brighter and brighter, although he was still getting deeper. He was perplexed… He had to keep going!
Entering Pitch Darkness
100 feet down, he finally hit pitch darkness. He ended up reaching a point where he would have to abseil his way down and scale the wall. It was an extremely deep decline, where he couldn’t see the bottom. The daredevil in him told him to keep going, and it was a good thing that he did.
More Drops
The canyon is unexpectable. It’s rugged, uneven, and riddled with dips and holes. Anderegg knew this and was ready to expect the unexpected. As he went through the first decline, he ended up discovering yet another drop that he estimated to be about 20-feet deep. Now, he had to be more careful in order to not get injured. If he was injured, he would be in trouble as he was completely alone…
Finding Ground
He made it safely to the ground and realized that there were even more to discover! This entire hike was taking a different turn, but he had no idea how real it was just about to get. He was in for a heartbreaking discovery…
Rescue Mission
350 deep into that canyon, Anderegg continued his trek when he stumbled upon a dog all by itself. He was absolutely shocked… This morning trek turned into a rescue mission very quickly! There was no way this dog could climb up by himself, so he knew he had to help. His adrenaline was pumping and all he could think about was getting this poor emaciated dog out of this canyon.
Heartbroken
Anderegg assumed that this dog was abandoned. There was no way this dog could have climbed all the way down there by itself. The dog was sickly looking and obviously exhausted… He knew that he needed to save it. But, could he?
Rescue Time
Anderegg knew that he didn’t have much time to spare with this dog. With his quick thinking, he left the dog down there to go back and get food and water. If this was going to be a successful rescue, he knew that the dog needed to try and regain some strength. He also needed more climbing gear.
Losing Time
The hiker knew that he had to be fast. If he waited too long, this dog might just not make it. He went home, grabbed food, water, and the gear, and began his trek back down. He was trying to not think about how that dog landed down there, how long it’s been down there, and all of those heartbreaking things…
Getting Help
He also knew that he needed some sort of carrier, as this dog could barely walk on it’s own. After going to a local shelter, they only had a cat carrier in stock but that was the best he could do. He also notified fire and police departments to see if they could help, but unfortunately, they could not. Anderegg was on his own.
Rushing
Before heading out, Anderegg checked out the dog. It was in a lot worse condition than he originally thought… But, he knew that he could help. The first thing he needed to do was get the dog out of there, and then they needed to head straight to the vet.
Successful Rescue
As soon as he got the dog to the vet, they took him into the emergency center. The doctors told him that the poor dog would have to be in the vet for at least two days to start to stabilize. As they were checking out the dog, it became obvious that it had been abused before…
More Health Issues
They were able to discover that there were shotgun wounds healed on the dog’s side. The dog, who they found out was a boy, had completely black teeth due to malnourishment. Anderegg’s heart completely broke at the thought of someone being so cruel to this innocent soul.
A New Dog
This dog was weak physically but strong spiritually. Anderegg and his wife decided to take in the poor pup after he was all recovered. They were determined to find him the perfect forever home.
Long Road Ahead
When he was first admitted to the vet, the poor dog couldn’t even stand correctly. He was so weak that they were worried about how long this recovery would take. After they stabilized him, there was still a long way before he was fully healed. When Anderegg and his wife took him in, he still wasn’t that strong. All he could really do was wag his tail. They were determined to nurse him back to health.
It’s Looking Good!
After a while, the dog was able to run and play. He was interacting with his rescue family and was becoming much more social. They decided to name him Shadow as they all continued to bond.
He’s Family
As Shadow got bigger and healthier, he was getting more and more attached to the family that rescued him. As time went on, they both knew that Shadow was more than just fate, he was destiny. It wasn’t just coincidence that Anderegg went hiking that day. They knew he was there to stay forever.
Meeting Ellen
This story struck a chord with hundreds of thousands of people all over the nation. Ellen even decided to have their little family featured on the show! Their story was of true fate and it really lifted the spirits of many people. Shadow and his new family were always meant to be together.
Renaming The Dog
After the couple decided to keep Shadow for good, they decided to give him the name Riley as they had always wanted to do with their own dog. They both believe that Riley came into their lives to teach them how to be a better person. They were now adventure buddies!
Two Dog Pals
The Anderegg family already had a dog named Kohi who was excited about his new brother! Now, they had two adventure buddies to bring them on these awesome explorations. Riley and Kohi have joined the family on their adventures around Utah and Arizona.
A Brand New Life
Riley is now a totally different dog! He’s fit and healthy with a large following on Facebook. Zachary spoke about the dog that he rescued revealing, “He has become a cherished member of our family. He is without a doubt one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever known.”