A golden retriever is being praised after he protected two young girls for four hours after they got lost in the woods.
Sisters Abigail and Cecilia Bourgwent decided to go on a walk with their family dog, Artemis, in a wooded area behind their home in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, in November.
However, the girls wandered off too far and became lost. They were then reported missing by their worried parents, who had last seen them at around 5:00 p.m.
“I just start like running around the whole property — six acres — and that’s when I called [my husband] and said, ‘They’re gone,'” Mary Bourg told CBS News.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deployed several resources to find the sisters, including drones, ATVs, and K9s. They even sought help from the Louisiana State Police and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, who deployed one of their helicopters.
The seven-year-old and four-year-old wandered for approximately a mile and had been gone for four hours until one searcher heard Artemis barking.
The search team had thankfully found them, but when the team tried approaching the three, Artemis started growling at them and would not let them get close, according to Marry Borg.
After the girls were rescued, they revealed to their parents that it was the golden retriever who got them lost since he kept running ahead of them, but they could not keep up.
However, the parents also discovered it was Artemis who kept the girls safe, as he allowed them to hold his collar while walking and snuggle up with him when they became cold and tired, according to Inside Edition.
The father, Justin Bourg, told CBS News that Artemis has been forgiven despite running off.
“He’s got a free pass for a while,” he said. “I won’t be fussing at him for chewing up blankets and shoes.”
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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