SEE IT: Mother, daughter rescue dog trapped on steep Colorado mountain

By Jessica Hehir-Smith via SWNS

This is the heroic moment a mother-daughter duo rescued a dog that was trapped on a steep mountain for 24 hours.

Brittanie Dickson, 30, and her mother, Carmell Dickson, 55, were called out to assist with a stranded 13-year-old Border Collie Lab mix Tony.

The two women spend their spare time helping animals in need.

Tony’s owner, who has not been named, was hiking near the Moffat Tunnel in Rollinsville, Colo., but suffered an injury that forced her to leave him alone on the mountain.

Brittanie and Carmell were joined by the hiker's father in their search.

The trio searched for two hours but had no luck before the sun went down, so they returned the next morning.

They set off again at 8 am and headed to the last area Tony could be heard barking from - a completely off-trail, steep and difficult area to hike.

Miraculously, Brittanie spotted the panicked pooch but he was on the opposite side of the loud raging South Boulder Creek Trail so she alerted the hiker’s father who leaped into action and crossed the river.

The man, whose name was withheld, clambered through the water and was eventually able to reach a stressed and exhausted Tony amongst huge trees, loose rocks and bush.

Tony’s granddad hoisted him to Brittanie who got him safely on the opposite side and the team began their descent of the 9800ft hill.

In total, they hiked about eight miles to locate the dog and get him home safely.

Brittanie and Carmell, both from Gilpin Country, Colo., described Tony’s rescue as extremely dangerous and adrenaline filled.

Brittanie said: “My adrenaline was at an all-time high. To be honest, I feel like all my training for missing animals went straight out the window…or maybe straight down that river.

“I immediately started talking to Tony, but I think I really was trying to calm myself down. I was so nervous about how steep and close to the edge he was sitting.

“There was a point he tried to get up the steepest path to get to his grandpa but he couldn’t make it. This is when I got even more nervous.

“The moment he was rescued was a huge breath of relief. I think we all took a second to calm down before getting him back to his owner.”

Tony was thrilled to see his rescuers.

Brittanie said that they "sat and cried" immediately after successfully getting him across the river.

She said: “We spent 30-45 minutes trying to collect ourselves after crying tears of joy and relief.

“We had some water and a snack before making the slow journey back down. Poor Tony was so exhausted, and his pads were so sore that he kept sitting to take breaks.

“We passed on the good news to Tony’s owner that everyone was safe and then parted ways.”

Brittanie, who owns Mountain Paws & Claws Pet Service, and Carmell, who owns both Aspect Painting & Roofing and Clear Solutions Medical Billing, both described the situation as a huge learning experience.

They were not prepared for a rescue on the side of a raging river and had only ever done relaxed, zero adrenaline hand or humane trap captures before.

Although Tony’s rescue could have ended up very badly, Brittanie said she was "beyond happy" that everything went well, and everyone is safe.

Both Brittanie and Carmell have been training with a company called CODE3, which specializes in high-adrenaline rescue events to make sure they are fully trained and prepared for incidents like this.

Brittanie posted the video to TikTok as she knew it was a ‘crazy’ rescue.

She said: “The adrenaline you can feel from the video makes you feel like you are right there with us.

“And of course, the happy ending is great. The hug between Tony and his grandpa is a real tear-jerker.

“We all love a happy ending."

The footage was filmed in June 2022.