Arizona dog hailed as hero after leading lost toddler to safety in overnight cold

A dog named Buford helped rescue a lost toddler who spent the night alone in the cold Arizona wilderness.

A missing toddler is safe in Seligman, Arizona, thanks to a watchful ranch dog named Buford.

The 2-year-old boy wandered from his home just before 5 p.m. local time Monday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO). As temperatures dropped, more than 40 search and rescue members, sheriff’s deputies and DPS rangers launched a wide-scale search through rugged terrain. A DPS helicopter even spotted two mountain lions during the overnight operation.

Overnight temperatures in Seligman dropped into the 40s F between Monday night and Tuesday morning—a chilly, potentially dangerous dip for anyone exposed, especially a small child without proper clothing or shelter.

Sixteen hours later, around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, a rancher 7 miles away spotted something unexpected.

“When I was driving out the driveway, I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance,” he told authorities. “I look up, and the little kid is standing there by my dog.”

The rancher immediately recognized the boy from the missing child alert. He got the child inside, gave him food and water and learned the toddler had spent the night sleeping under a tree.

“I asked him, ‘Did my dog find you?’ and he said, ‘Yep.’ I’m guessing he found him over here in the horse pasture somewhere under a tree and just brought him home. It’s what he does.”

Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, is a large livestock guardian dog who patrols the ranch and keeps coyotes away. “He loves kids,” the rancher added. “I can imagine he wouldn’t leave him when he found him.”

The boy had traveled an estimated 7 miles—crossing three mountain ridges and deep valleys. “For a 2-year-old to do that, that’s insane,” the rancher said.

YCSO called it a miracle and gave special thanks to “Buford the dog, who stayed with the boy and brought him to safety.”

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