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He lives in the highest parts of the mountain, with a thick coat covering his small body. Citla is a mountaineer as no other, and with an enormous heart.
The small dog lives in the vastness of the Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico. He lives some 13,000 feet above sea level and has become one of the most experienced mountain guides in the world.
The white dog, with some black fur on his face, has created such an aura around him, with many stories regarding the company and guidance he provides to mountaineers and visitors to the mountain. He has earned the titles of "Guardian Angel of the Mountain" and "The Mountain Guide".
Well aware of the three routes in the south face of Pico de Orizaba, he constantly goes to the summit, 18,471 feet over sea level, as a company and guide to the mountaineers, with the uncanny ability of caring for those suffering from "mountain sickness".
He is known to have three shelters: the guardhouse in the Large Millimetric Telescope premises, Dead Man's Cave and the refuge of the summit.
"There are people who say that the spirit of a mountain climber reincarnated in the dog, because it is very particular that this animal, without being trained, knows the routes and cares for the people," said the president of the Alpine Club of Ciudad Serdán, Hilario Aguilar Aguilar.
The loving animal, who receives every person he meets with joy, never leaves his mountain and as soon as he takes hikers all the way down, returns to his majestic enclave, not allowing himself to be removed from there.
There are climbers from Japan and Brazil who remember him with affection, after the tribulations that they lived together.
"If they get lost he leads to the refuge and if they deviate from the path he takes them to the right one," expresses Hilario.
Citla's exact age is not known, but it is estimated that he is between nine and ten years old. According to one of the stories about his presence in the area, a mason hired to work in the telescope, Alfonso Serrano, brought the then puppy as a company.
Since then, the testimony of his great feats abound among the groups and communities of mountain climbers, and people who have risked their lives attempting to tame the beast which is the peak of Orizaba.
But some time ago, the guardian had to leave the mountain, and for the worst possible reasons.
Citla was attacked by a dog property of a man who came on a VW bug from Mexico City, and instructed his Alaskan Malamute to mangle the smaller canine.
The aggression was brutal: Citla's jugular was cut, and two ribs and one of his legs were fractured. Citla was facing death and looked for refuge in Dead Man's Cave, where he was found by his human friends.
The dog was taken to a vet in Ciudad Serdán who was able to save his life, and with the help of his fellow climbers he received the needed medications and food, and even had a cataract removed from one of his eyes.
While the small dog began to get better and better, his desire to return to the mountain grew stronger and stronger, to the point that he had to be restrained because he looked for every chance to escape and return home.
Finally, he returned with his friend Hilario and now he is again in the mountain, waiting in the white snow with only his face being visible in his cold kingdom, ready to aid the mountaineers in need of guidance and company.
