BCSO deputy rescues lost dog in Sandia Mountains

TIJERAS, N.M. – A blizzard and road closures in the East Mountains were not about to keep one courageous pup from finding her family late Monday night. 

Delese Dellios explains how her disappointment instantly turned into relief, the moment she confirmed the wet and cold dog in the back of a BCSO deputy’s cruiser was her Alba. 

“The deputy shined the light in the back of his truck to make sure it was her, and as we saw her face, we knew instantly it was her,” Dellios told KOB 4. “I just couldn’t imagine her being out there, in the freezing cold, by herself and wondering if she was going to be okay.”

Alba is home safe right now, a miracle, considering just over 24-hours ago, her family wondered if they would ever see her again.

“My friend and I—and Alba and another dog—took off about 1:30 p.m., just to go on a very short little snowshoe adventure,” Dellios said.

Alba decided to embark on an hours-long adventure of her own near Sandia Crest Road in the snowy mountains.

“I hiked around looking for her, couldn’t find her anywhere, and finally came back to the car, and she hadn’t shown up there,” Dellios said. “It was starting to snow pretty heavy by then, and my friend went up and started following all of her trails down, like by the creeks, and over the river or the rocks, and we just couldn’t find her.”

She and her friend even tried howling at one point, to see if they could get Alba to bark.

“We took out a blanket, and a towel, and a piece of clothing, and built a shelter for her near the car in case she came back,” Dellios said.

Shortly before she gave up her search for the night, Dellios ran into BCSO Deputy Nicholas Throgmorton. He was shutting down Crest Road for the night because of the weather, but promised to look out for Alba.

“We saw the deputy at the barricade and just kind of waved to him, and we were driving back into town, and both of us were sobbing because we were coming back into town without our dog,” she said. 

“I’m a dog owner, myself, it kind of just made me think about my animals as well,” Deputy Throgmorton said. “I informed her that the road was being closed, but I wasn’t about to tell her that she wasn’t going to go look for a dog because, like I said, I kind of put myself in her shoes and thought about my own animals. I would want them to be found.”

Little did Dellios know, just minutes after she drove away, a miracle happened.

“I actually heard the footsteps, and you know, up in the mountains, you don’t know what kind of animal it’s going to be, and when I looked out the window, I saw Alba running towards me,” Deputy Throgmorton said. “We’ve had missing dogs before, but usually the owners find them. It’s never like the dog finding us, so it was a pretty unique situation.”

After snapping a quick selfie, the deputy reunited the freezing pup with her mom.

“To lose her was just not a thought,” Dellios said. “Like, I just couldn’t imagine it.”

She went on to say Alba was sore and sleepy the day after her big adventure, but she had an extra big dinner Monday night and has been recovering in a warm and cozy bed. 

Click the video above to watch the body cam video of Alba’s reunion with her family.