A dog stood guard over her owner's body for up to six weeks after the man committed suicide in a remote part of rural Colorado.

The body of 25-year-old Jake Baysinger was found on the Pawnee National Grasslands about 75 miles from Denver with Cash, his German shepherd beside him, thin and dehydrated but still alive.

The dog had apparently survived by eating mice and rabbits, police said.

Mr Baysinger is believed to have shot himself. Investigators said the dog probably kept coyotes away from the body.

"At least we know it's over now," said his wife Sara. "We'd been looking for my husband for six weeks, and this isn't how we wanted it to end. At least we can close this."

Mr Baysinger was reported missing on June 28. An extensive search failed to locate him, but Kip Konig, a rancher, saw the dog last weekend, went to investigate and discovered the body and a pickup truck.

He said Cash kept running back to the pickup and jumping into the front seat.

"I got the sense she was trying to tell me where her master was," Mr Konig said.

Cash was reunited with Mrs Baysinger and her two-year-old son, Lane. She said her little boy was "very close to that dog" and happy to see her again.