Dog rescued from Albuquerque petroglyphs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A case of mistaken identity turned into a life-saving mission for one good boy on Albuquerque’s West Side.

A dog was seen by Kyra Nieto in her West Side neighborhood near Petroglyph National Monument. Nieto first thought the dog was a female, as her neighbor posted about her missing dog, Sophie, the week before, so the neighbor joined the search right away with Nieto.

“She was up there and me and my daughter were kinda down low trying to guide her. The dog came in and out a couple of times so we got spottings of her and I was like ‘she’s over here!’,” Nieto said.

They found the dog was in a place where he seemed to have made a home of his own. However, they had a hard time getting him out from under a boulder they had no way of moving themselves.

“Just his mannerisms and just how he went into that hill so fast, I truly believe he’s probably lived there for a little while,” Nieto said. “I couldn’t have left here knowing he was up here with all of the coyotes and whatever other kind of wildlife.”

Thanks to a social media post requesting help, neighbor Bob Oberer joined the rescue effort.

“Just barely had to climb in, to where I could actually touch him and he tried to chomp at me a couple of times,” Oberer said. “I think he knew we weren’t there to hurt him, so we finally kinda laid down a trail of sausage and other little treats and he came out.”

Nieto kept the dog for a few days and named him Petroglyph. Then, she took him to the West Side Shelter late last week for what they hope will be a short stay.

“He knew tricks, he had a collar, no tags or microchip but he did have a collar,” Nieto said. “Just knowing we got him out of here, it was hard and it took a long time, but ultimately we saved him so I hope he does get adopted out if his family doesn’t find him.”

Petroglyph already has another potential happy ending. Neighbors told KOB 4 the woman with the other missing dog, who they initially thought Petroglyph was, is considering adopting him.