Posted on 06/30/2004 9:58:52 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Missing Toddler Found Guarded By Family Dog
POSTED: 11:25 am EDT June 30,
2004
Daisy Smith was found more than a mile from her home by a Clark County conservation officer taking part in a search that began after she and the dog disappeared from the family's back yard about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Conservation Officer Andy Crozier found the girl about 6:30 a.m. after following dog tracks that led him to the family's Labrador retriever at the site about 25 miles northeast of Louisville, Ky.
Emergency management workers examined the girl at the home of her parents -- Les and Cheryl Smith.
"You couldn't believe how happy I was when I heard," Les Smith said. "My wife called me at work last night and told me what had happened, and ever since then you can't even describe what's going through your mind. When they told me that they found her, it was unbelievable."
Conservation Officer Mac Spainhour said the family dog was to thank for the girl's safety.
"This girl has a guardian angel," Spainhour said. "And it's the dog. He stayed with her throughout the night, and in the end he led us to her."
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Puss Puss couldn't stand the thought of all that good meat going to waste.
My thoughts exactly. What kind of a dad is that?
Nice story. I love dogs and cats, maybe cats a little moreso because they aren't so demanding. A dog's thought process in saving its owner or a child seems pretty straight forward, a cat's motivations are a little harder to tell. For all that, some cats do develop strong bonds with some people and even other (non-cat) animals. My late aunt's cat stayed with her religiously while she was sick and dying from cancer at home, and wouldn't leave her even after she passed until the men came to take her to the funeral home. The cat itself passed away a few weeks later.
There was a terrible fire in a home. The fire killed the entire family. When rescue workers reached the bedroom of the youngest child, a four-year-old boy, they found his body under the burned body of the family dog. The dog's body, even in death, was stretched out to its maximum possible length, completely covering the little boy.
(steely)
Og guards £-year-old
Oh, that's a gut wrenching story. Even though he's a hero it's still too sad.
The Dopers [denizens of straightdope.com] beat us to it.
Ohhhhhhhhh, thanks for the ping. What a neat story.
whatever...I don't know where all your animosity toward cats comes from. Growing up with both cat and dog I know how wonderful both can be and realize that it comes down to the personality of each animal. Who knows?, though, maybe a puddy cat scratched you as a kid when you tried to set it's tail on fire.
An og once bit my ister
Awww! I had a golden/lab mix puppy named Thunder. Had to give him to the pound, though. :-( He was the smartest of the litter.
Oops! Meant to say a golden/chow mix.
I saw a sign for a Hugh Multi-Family yard sale the other day. Wondered if they were Freepers.
Not a Lab but a miniature Golden Retriever is close. Just a little bigger than a beagle.
Ping!
I have one. All my breeder's dogs are this size - about 20 inches at the shoulder, about 40 pounds.
Labs rule!
I saw this and thought of my daughter Alyson (who is 2 as you know) and my dear sweet lab, Jessi!!
I should print this out and show it to my mother the next time she complains about the dog! *laughing*
Awww, great story. Dogs are the best.
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