You might not expect much grit out of a 17-year-old dog who is deaf and partially blind, but Max has just proven that his disabilities are not going to keep him from being a hero.
The courageous canine spent 15 hours in the harsh, rainy Australian bushland alongside a 3-year-old girl who had wandered away from home earlier this weekend.
The little girl named Aurora first went missing on Friday afternoon. The next day, over 100 police and emergency response members were searching the family’s rural property in hopes of finding the youngster.
Her grandmother, Leisa Bennett was joining the search efforts on Saturday when she heard the sound of Aurora’s crying coming from the top of the mountain.
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As she moved closer to the sound, Max suddenly appeared out of the bush and led Leisa straight to where Aurora was stranded – and the reunion with her family was an emotional one.
“I think [Aurora] was a bit overwhelmed by the tears and the howling, but I explained to her how happy those tears were,” she said. “It could have gone any of 100 ways, but she’s here, she’s alive, she’s well and it’s a great outcome for our family.”
The 3-year-old was located just 1.2 miles away from her family’s house with minor cuts and scrapes.
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“The area around the house is quite mountainous and is very inhospitable terrain to go walking in, so she’d traveled quite a distance with her dog that was quite loyal to her,” SES area controller Ian Phipps told ABC.net.au.
“With the weather last night it’s quite lucky she is well because it was cold, it was cold and raining,” he added.
While it is pretty safe to assume that Max the senior dog was rewarded with a bone for his heroic efforts, he was also named an honorary Queensland police dog for his bravery.
Click To Share The Pawesome Story With Your Friends – Photo by the Queensland Police