She told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that her husband’s last thoughts were for her safety.

“His last words to me were, ‘Retreat to the trees.’ I think he saw what was coming from above, that I did not see. That reflects Dave’s amazing quality — thinking of others,” she said.

Search and rescue personnel saw no sign of Oly at the site, and it was thought he had been buried in the slide. But if Oly was buried, he managed to dig his way out and then walk four miles on stubby legs back to Cooke City in temperatures that dipped into the teens at night.

Cooke City businessman Bill Whittle, who volunteered to drive the dog back to his family on Wednesday, said Oly appeared to be in good condition despite his ordeal.

“It’s a miracle,” Whittle said.

When he first approached, Whittle said, Oly was nervous and scared. But when he called the dog’s name, Oly came right over.

“He was real hungry and thirsty,” Whittle said. “We fed him twice.”

Whittle is a member of the search and rescue crew that helped retrieve Gaillard’s body. He called the area a “bad spot” in difficult terrain.