K-9 Pup Finds Missing 3-Year-Old Boy After Sniffing His Blanket
It was a scary day for the parents of a 3-year-old boy who went missing from his family home at the end of March. The family lives in DeLand, Florida and around 11:30 a.m. on March 29th the local department was notified that their toddler couldn't be found.
NBC News shared the story that luckily has a happy ending on Wednesday, April 10th about the K-9 dog named Midnight who found the child. Midnight and his handler Corporal Clark arrived at the home to search the surrounding woods. The dog sniffed the child's blanket and located the child before his handler even caught up to him. Listen in as Corporal Clark describes how it all went down.
His parents must've been so relieved! NBC News commenters praised Midnight's efforts and called him a hero. Only one commenter wondered what I did about this story. @ELSI asked, "Why would anyone let a 3 YO play alone in the woods??" I did some looking around but couldn't find anything about that part of the story. I love a happy ending, and thankfully for this family the child was located in less than an hour and was unharmed.
Related: K9 Trainer Shows Cool Video of Dog Finding Her Daughter in the Forest
The Relationship Between a K-9 Dog and Handler
The relationship between a K-9 dog and its handler is a very special one. I love that officers share videos with their canine partners so that we can all see the incredible bond that they have. They depend on each other every single day, and sometimes in situations that are literally a matter of life or death.
The bond that these officers develop takes months of training to build. During training the two learn how to work together as a team, build trust and respect, and learn to read and sense each other's body language...just like when two humans become partners.
After their on-the-clock shifts end, these partners head home together. They do everything together when they aren't working; they literally eat, work, play, and live together. Police dogs become part of the officer's family and part of the pack if the family has other pets. Even though they blend in as a pet, Midnight and other K-9s number one priority is always to protect their masters and the family; they know when it's work time or play time but they're always on the clock.
Police dogs usually work 5 to 10 years before retiring. Often, the dog will then become the officer's pet, although some departments don't allow that.
It's truly amazing to watch K-9 dogs in action with their handlers! What an incredible relationship they have. It's hard to believe that human officers trust their K-9s to protect them at all costs, and that they do the same for the dog. Those are total relationship goals.
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