When a hiker slipped and broke his ankle in the remote foothills of the Italian Alps, his loyal canine companion refused to leave his side for seven days and nights in the freezing cold. The hiker credits the mixed-breed pup for saving his life. The unnamed 33-year-old from Trieste, Italy, was hiking with his dog, Ash, north of Udine at an altitude of nearly 2,300 feet (approx. 700 m) when he slipped, People reported. Immobilized, and without a cellphone signal, he was unable to call for help. Italian mountain rescue team Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) later posted on Facebook of the incident: “He claimed that he had slipped several meters into a canal and dragged himself, albeit with a broken ankle and other traumas, as close to the creek water as possible, and that he managed to survive thanks to the company of the doggy.” The pair spent a week …