December 6th 2012 5:41 am
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Dog Saves Boy, A Lassie Story in Real Life
Steve Dale's Pet World at Chicagonow.com

Lassie saves another life....well, almost. This time, the dog's name is Ashapoo and is an Australian Shepherd, not a Collie; and instead of Timmy falling into a well, it's two-year old Peyton who wanders of.

Peyton is a two-year described to be "on batteries." Grandma turned her back for a moment, and the toddler was gone. They had been preparing to leave their home in Clover, SC to sniff out a Christmas tree.

Authorities instantly began to search, as did family and the entire community. In all, eventually 400 participated in the search. A helicopter donated by SLED was used to search the woods.

Some felt - there's no way this story could have had a happy ending....except that Peyton didn't disappear alone, so did Ashapoo. Peyton's dad, Rich Myrick to local station WBTV, "In the back of your mind, you know the dog is going to be with him."

It was getting dark and cold. Mom, Carmen, was expressing concern - despite the massive search effort.

Neighbors noticed Ashepoo at their barn a quarter mile away from the Myrick home. He was walking back and forth from the barn several times and the neighbors wondered if he could be with Peyton and alerted the searchers. Once the dog sighted rescuers, he bagan to "do a Lassie," barked and ultimately was saying "follow me." Rescuers did follow - and found Peyton curled up sleeping, and just fine.

The two-year-old told his family he was scared, he was going to get hurt, and he was cold. Dad Rich said, "I think he got scared and just lay down and took a nap, and Ashapoo stayed right with him." He added, "I guess he felt that was his job to protect him and be with him." And he also said, "I believe the dog was his guardian angel in fur.

You can argue that the dog just stayed with the boy for his own welfare (or I suppose you can)....but how about proactively leading the rescuers to where Peyton was lying inside the barn? Heroes sometimes do bark.

Barked by: Jamaica - A Rainbow Girl (Dogster Member)

December 6th 2012 at 5:45 am

While I continue to be amazed at the wonderful things we dogs can do, I am no longer surprised. Of course, 'heroes sometimes do bark'. We've seen it again and again.

Well done, Ash!