A deaf and partially blind family dog is being praised in Australia for keeping a 3-year-old girl safe as she was lost in the wilderness for 15 hours.
Aurora Kyle was reported missing about 3 p.m. Friday after she wandered away from her home in Queensland, according to Seven News.
Max, a 17-year-old blue heeler, kept Kyle warm overnight as temperatures dropped into the 50s.
News.com.au reports the girl wandered more than a mile away from home. There was fear that she may have fallen into one of the dams in the area.
After an exhaustive search, Kyle’s grandmother, Leisa Marie Bennett, heard the girl’s voice atop a mountain. Once again, Max helped bring her to safety.
“The dog came to my feet and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I found the dog’. The dog led me straight to her,” Bennett said.
Queensland police praised Max, tweeting: “SUCH A GOOD BOY, MAX! He stayed with his 3-year-old human who was lost near Warwick last night while we frantically searched for her. For keeping her safe, you’re now an honorary police dog.”
SUCH A GOOD BOY, MAX! He stayed with his 3-year-old human who was lost near Warwick last night while we frantically searched for her. For keeping her safe, you're now an honorary police dog. 🐶https://t.co/QiszGFP4gg via @ABCNews pic.twitter.com/xxRc6ndeaK
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) April 21, 2018
Kyle was mostly unharmed, suffering just a few scratches. She told her grandmother she slept well with Max by her side.
“‘I pulled him and we slept together … I had a good sleep, Granby,'” Bennett said the girl told her.
“I don’t think I’ll ever doubt that dog ever again because he is a great little dog,” uncle Jake Miller said.
State Emergency Service area controller Ian Phipps told ABC the little girl was very lucky.
“The area around the house is quite mountainous and is very inhospitable terrain to go walking in, so she’d traveled quite a distance with her dog that was quite loyal to her,” he said. “With the weather last night it’s quite lucky she is well because it was cold, it was cold and raining.”