Rescuing Riley: Zak Anderegg Saves a Puppy From a 350-Foot Slot Canyon

In 2010, Zak Anderegg was rappelling and climbing through a deep slot canyon near the Utah–Arizona border when he found a starving puppy at the bottom of a water-worn pothole, about 350 feet below the rim. The dog, later named Riley, was close to death. Anderegg filmed much of the rescue that followed, and the footage went around the world.

Zak Anderegg finds a puppy 350 feet down

Anderegg, a former US Marine sergeant who co-owned The Wrench-It Center in Salt Lake City, was on a solo canyoneering trip. The slot was so narrow and twisting that parts of it stayed dark at midday. In one of the potholes, the bowl-shaped pools that flash floods carve into sandstone canyon floors, he found the puppy: emaciated, dehydrated and unable to climb out.

The rim was roughly 350 feet above, and a fall from there would have killed the dog. Anderegg concluded that someone had dumped him in the canyon. The puppy had three shotgun pellets under his skin, and his teeth were blackened by malnutrition. Anderegg estimated the dog was 24 to 48 hours from death.

Rescuing Riley with ropes and a cat carrier

Anderegg first climbed out to get water for the puppy, then drove to Page, Arizona, to look for help. Local agencies would not send firefighters or deputies into the canyon, so he went back alone the next morning with ropes and a cat carrier. He rigged the carrier to his rope system to keep it stable and hauled the dog up as he climbed out himself.

"I took risks," he told KSL in Salt Lake City. "But none above what I do anyway."

Riley's recovery and the book

Page Animal Hospital treated the puppy, with its Angel Fund covering most of the cost, and he improved quickly. At first the Andereggs looked for an adopter, as the family already had several pets, but the dog stayed with Zak. He named him Riley.

Anderegg later told the full story, with writer Peter Nelson, in the book Rescuing Riley, Saving Myself: A Man and His Dog's Struggle to Find Salvation. It describes how saving the puppy also helped him face a difficult childhood and his own struggles.

Slot canyon safety in the desert Southwest

The slot canyons of southern Utah and northern Arizona, around Page and Lake Powell, are among the most striking places in the Southwest, and among the most demanding. Many technical slots need rappelling skills, ropes and a way out. Flash floods are the biggest danger: a storm many miles away can send water through a dry canyon with little warning. Check the forecast and local flood warnings before entering, tell someone your route, and go with a guide or experienced partners if you are new to canyoneering.

Explore more animal rescues: An Icy-Water Dog Rescue: The Moment Help Arrives, a wolf freed from an icy creek, A Moose in the Ice: The Loon Lake Rescue, A Deer Rescued from Lake Ice near Kenora, Ontario, A Helicopter Helps a Deer Stranded on Ice and Savor Every Moment: Keith Hopkin’s Film About Dogs.

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