Three Great Pyrenees puppies were rescued from the top of a remote mountain in Utah, authorities said.
The dogs were found by some snowmobilers Saturday on Monte Cristo, surviving in the remote area of Weber County by living in a sheep carcass, KSTU reported.
"They’re adorable,” Corey Holt told the television station.
Holt and Kat Perry were snowmobiling in the area Saturday when they saw a dog in the area, according to KSTU.
“I’m not going to leave any animal on the mountain to starve, especially, it was obvious she had pups,” Holt told the television station.
The couple was unable to save the dogs Saturday, but returned the next day to find three puppies and their mother, five miles from the nearest paved road, KSTU reported.
The couple called Weber County Search and Rescue for help.
"We don't normally go save animals, but you know if you're in the situation and you can help, well, we are happy to help," Lt. Mark Horton told KSL.
"Search & Rescue was able to assist by responding with a rescue sled and helping the couple with rescuing the puppies," Weber County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue officials wrote in a Facebook post.
"Everything just fell right into place except for rescuing the mom," Perry told KSTU.
The puppies’ mother was wary of the rescuers and would not follow them, so Perry left behind 20 pounds of dog food, the television station reported.
"We didn't have a leash, we didn't have a rope or anything so we decided the best thing was [to] get these guys out first and then go back in and try to get her," Holt told KSTU.
Crews used a rescue sled to get the puppies out of the mountains, the team wrote on Facebook. Hope's Rescue in Ogden is working to find homes for the pups, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Investigators told KSTU they believed the mother was protecting a flock of sheep on the mountain during the summer. When a rancher gathered the sheep, the mother dog went to have her litter, the television station reported.
"They were living in a sheep carcass. She had found a dead sheep and they had eaten, there was nothing left, just a little bit of wool and a few big bones. I'm sure that's what she'd been eating on all fall," Perry told KSTU. "The pups were cold, shivering and wet and just a little ball of ice."
Perry and Holt are considering keeping one puppy, which they named Polar, as volunteers search for the dogs’ mother, the television station reported.
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