Collin Leiby, an avid hiker and wedding photographer, locked eyes with the animal and knew it was Freddy, a 6-month-old Golden Retriever whose disappearance had sparked a weeklong search in Pottsville, a community in eastern eastern Pennsylvania’s historic coal country.
Leiby had been on alert for the missing dog and finally found him Monday on Sharp Mountain, about 10 feet (3 meters) down the coal pit, too weary to make his way out.
A Pennsylvania hiker had followed his dog off a mountain trail this week when he glanced toward a deep coal pit below and saw a tail move near a pile of rocks.
Freddy, who had weighed about 45 pounds (20 kilograms), lost at least 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) from the ordeal, and is a little the worse for wear, but otherwise healthy.
He gave him water, clipped a spare leash on him and walked Freddy off the mountain alongside his dog, a pit bull mix named Bass.
