Brave dog helps missing toddler (2) survive in wilderness

Two-year-old Boden Allen escaped the attention of his parents last Monday in Seligman (Arizona). Father Cory was working on the roof at the time, while mother Sarah was caring for the baby. The child suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The sheriff organised a search operation with forty volunteers and family members, aided by a helicopter.

Relief came only sixteen hours after his disappearance. A rancher found the toddler on his property, in the company of his dog Buford. The child was found no less than eleven kilometres from his home. He survived in this wilderness where cougars live, thanks to the protection of the large shepherd dog Buford. "I followed Boden's footprints. So I know my dog accompanied him for at least a mile and a half, to my home", said rancher Dunton to NBC News.

Boden was reunited with his overjoyed parents and Buford, who has since been showered with gifts by the local community.

(SR - Source: NBC News - Illustration image: ©Unsplash)