Lost 3-year-old Custer Boy was Protected by Dog

CUSTER - When it comes to a dog, there are some great qualities it brings to an individual or a family. Obedience, courage, companionship, unconditional love, and loyalty to name a few. These qualities were unflinchingly demonstrated by a little boy's dog near Custer.

The three year old boy wandered away from his home with his dog, a large brown pit bull, and became lost in the woods. Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler says the boy was lost about an hour before rescuers found him about a quarter mile away.

The authorities were able to track the boy and the dog by following their footprints in the snow.

The little boy's dog did his job. There was no way he would let anyone near the boy.  The dog had to know that conditions were not normal. Something was wrong. This dog would have given his life if necessary to protect the child. The bond between the two was so strong that the dog was ready to do the most selfless, single-minded thing it could do.  Offer protection and sacrifice itself if necessary.

This episode had a happy ending. The boy's father had to come and get the dog so the rescuers could do their job. The dog wasn't harmed and the little boy had no obvious injuries but he was taken taken to the hospital as a precaution. The boy wasn't identified.

My hat is off to this dog for what it did and for what it was so willing to do.  Dogs are some of the nicest people I've ever met.

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