I was hiking with my black Lab, Ziggy, at Booth Falls in East Vail on June 6 when we came across a two men with a dog on leash. The man holding the leash was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat and sunglasses. He has lived in Vail for the past 18 months and is from South City, St. Louis, Mo. His dog was black, white, grayish.

As we passed by the two young men and their dog, Ziggy went to great him as he does any other dog. The other dog immediately snapped at Ziggy, getting his tongue with the full grip of his jaws. Ziggy immediately pulled back, gushing blood from his mouth.

The man immediately offered his help and retrieved a muzzle from his backpack for his dog. He said he was willing to come with me to the vet and help take care of the situation. I informed the man that I was taking Ziggy to the Vail Valley Animal Hospital. I told him that they had an office in Edwards next to Larkburger.

After unsuccessful attempts to contact that office, we ended using their Eagle-Vail clinic. I took Ziggy down the mountain back to my car and we seemed to have lost track of the two young men and their dog.

After rushing Ziggy to the vet, they said they needed to put him under for surgery. His tongue was torn up badly, and they needed to put him under. They quoted me around $850 for the operation.

Later that night, the vet called and said it was more serious than he had thought. Ziggy needed infected tissue in his mouth removed and numerous stitches on the tongue. The grand total for the surgery, night stay at the vet, tests, and medication ended up being $1,164.96.

Ziggy is now home with me, resting and unable to eat his regular food or do much of anything for quite a while.

I would just love to be able to talk to the other dog owner, but do not know how to find him. I have pictures of Ziggy and his tongue before and after surgery (taken by the vet). I would be so grateful if there is anything that anyone in the community could do to help me find this man and his dog so that I could speak with him.

I wait tables and teach snowboard lessons for a living, and the expensive surgery is an enormous hit to me financially. Thanks.

Aaron Truitt

Eagle-Vail