Otis Orth lay in the freezing cold unable to move after a snowmachine crash Sunday. The man lay there all night and would have not survived if it wasn’t for his dog Amber keeping him warm.
Orth, who is 52-years-old, was riding his snowmachine with his dog on Sunday afternoon to go and get groceries. The two were riding near Trapper Creek, Alaska when they hit a snowdrift and flipped. Orth’s neck was injured and both of his arms had dislocated. All he could do was lay there moving his legs and feet to try to keep warm and hope someone would come along to help. Temperatures began to drop as low as 9 degrees.
By his side the whole time was his golden retriever Amber. She lay next to him placing her paws over his stomach and doing her best to keep him warm.
“She stayed really close to me,” said Orth. “She could tell I was shivering and I was cold.”
The next day when Orth heard other snowmachines in the area he told Amber to go get help. She quickly ran to alert them. Amber led the snowmachiners to Orth and medics and state troopers were called to the scene. Roughly 26 hours after the crash Orth was taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. He suffered frostbite and will likely lose several toes, but Orth is expected to recover.
“I owe that dog my life,” said Orth. “If I had stayed out there one more night I wouldn’t have made it.”
