After getting lost and spending the night in the cold Arizona wilderness, a 2-year-old toddler was saved by a ranch dog. By the next day, the dog managed to bring the boy back to safety after he wandered 7 miles from home.
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Toddler Goes Missing In Cold Arizona Wilderness Overnight
Yavapai County Sheriff's Office first reported the toddler missing before 5 PM on Monday, April 14, according to CBS. They identified the boy as Boden Allen from his
missing persons poster shared on Facebook.
Only wearing a blue tank top, pajama pants, and Vans sneakers, the toddler wandered off from his Seligman, Arizona home. It's a remote town with less than 1,000 people, and surrounding it is the desert wilderness. A 40-person search and rescue team immediately began to look for the boy, and it continued throughout the night.
When the sun sets, temperatures can go between the high 40s and low 50s. Not only is the wilderness cold at night, but it also consists of dangerous animals. A ranger in a rescue helicopter from the Department of Public Safety spotted two mountain lions nearby.
Worry began to set in as the rescue team failed to find Boden that night. But just like a miracle, a rancher found something shocking at the end of his driveway Tuesday morning.
"I'd heard about the missing child before I was going to town," said the rancher. "And when I was driving out the driveway, I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance." When the rancher looked up, he spotted the child standing beside his dog.
Buford The Dog Saves The Missing Toddler
KPHO later identified the man as Scotty Dunton. He told deputies his half-Pyrenees and half-Anatolian ranch dog, Buford, must've found Boden while patrolling the property. Buford would've likely protected him and brought him back to safety, which was at the ranch 7 miles from the toddler's home.
"Just brought him up from the horse pasture and brought him over to the gate and was just hanging out with him," said Dunton. The rancher then asked the boy how he ended up there. "'Did you walk all night?' And he goes, 'No, I slept under a tree.' And I said, 'Well, did my dog find you?' And he said, 'Yep.' The powerlines go out right to his house seven miles away or so."
Dunton brought him inside while he questioned him and gave him food and drink. The toddler is lucky to have come across Buford, especially with how much he adores children. "It's what he does," Dunton continued. "He loves kids, so I can imagine he wouldn't leave him when he found him."
The rancher eventually notified the police about the toddler. Authorities confirmed he was the missing boy they were looking for, and they were able to bring the toddler back to his family.
Of course, Buford deserved the best reward any dog could ever get. "He's getting steak dinner tonight, my wife already said," Dunton exclaimed. "He did a great job."
