Dogs Separated After Losing Their Dad In Colorado Hike Share A Reunion That’ll Make You Cry
Tonka and Little P weren’t just pets to Kris. They were his boys. His buddies. Two brothers who did absolutely everything together, always shoulder-to-shoulder, always looking out for one another.
But during one trip into the Colorado wilderness, things took a heartbreaking turn. What started off as a simple hike suddenly spiraled into a frightening ordeal.
Kris and his two loyal pups became lost, wandering the mountains for two long days without food or water, facing dangers none of them ever expected.
Exhausted, Kris tried to climb down a steep canyon, hoping to find a way out. But the rocks were too unstable. He slipped, and all three of them went tumbling down together.
Kris didn’t survive the fall. Somehow, Tonka and Little P did.
Both boys were hurt. Tonka’s front legs were broken, leaving him unable to walk. Yet, they stayed with their dad until rescuers finally arrived.
When Tonka was placed on a stretcher, Little P couldn’t bear to be apart from his brother.
He scrambled up beside him and showered him with licks, refusing to let go. It was a heartbreaking sight.
The next few weeks were the hardest of their lives. Tonka needed surgery, casts, and a long recovery. For the first time ever, the brothers had to be separated.
Tonka went into foster care, while Little P moved in with Kris’s cousin Crysti and her boyfriend.
The brothers seemed to understand what was happening, as Crysti shared in a YouTube video
“They were kissing each other, and it was like they were saying, ‘I’ll see you on the other side of this, it’ll be okay.’”
Still, they were lost without one another. And without Kris, the hole in their hearts was even bigger.
Tonka especially struggled. He howled in his foster home, as if he were calling out for the dad he’d loved since puppyhood.
But they weren’t alone. Crysti, along with the rescue group Mr. Bones & Co., rallied everyone they could: fosters, volunteers, and friends, to make sure the brothers had the best chance to heal physically and emotionally.
Slowly, Tonka’s legs grew stronger. Little P settled into his temporary home. And step by step, they both began to find their light again.
Once Tonka was well enough, the rescue began looking for a forever home where the two boys could stay together. No one was going to separate them again.
Crysti had only one wish, as she shared:
“We needed someone who would give them a similar life to what my cousin did, a life full of adventures and outdoor activities.”
Word spread, and the response was overwhelming. More than 200 people applied to adopt Tonka and Little P. So many hearts had been touched by their story.
After careful searching, one application stood out. A couple named Brandon and Heilea seemed like the perfect fit.
They lived for the outdoors, for hikes and road trips, the exact kind of life Tonka and Little P had once known with Kris.
Finally, adoption day arrived. And even more importantly, reunion day.
When Tonka and Little P saw each other again, they froze for just a moment, almost in disbelief. Then, tails wagging furiously, they rushed into each other’s space.
They sniffed, they nuzzled, and in seconds, it was like they’d never been apart.
Kris’s whole family came to witness the reunion. And then, in one of the most powerful moments of all, Tonka lifted his head and began to howl. Little P joined him.
The two brothers sang together, as if sending a message to Kris in heaven: “We’re okay now, Dad.” Crysti shared:
“It was such an emotional experience because it really felt like they were singing out to Kris.”
From that moment, their new life began. The boys went on hikes, lounged on the patio, and curled up together every night. They were finally home.
They got to spend golden years together, filled with love and adventure.
And when Tonka’s time eventually came, he crossed the rainbow bridge surrounded by the family who cherished him.
It broke everyone’s hearts, especially Little P’s, but there was also gratitude, knowing that Kris’s boys had found a family who loved them just as deeply as he once did.
