A family dog is being hailed a hero after it protected two girls who wandered and got lost in the Louisiana woods for hours.
Abigail Bourg, 7, and her sister Cecilia, four, were reported missing in Folsom, Louisiana, on Monday, while they were accompanied by their Golden Retriever family, Artemis, CBS News reported.
“I started running all over the six acre property and that’s when I called [my husband] and said, ‘They’re gone,'” Mary Bourg said of the moment she realized her daughters were gone.
Police and neighbors searched for the girls for four hours, finally locating them when they heard Artemis barking.
US SOLDIER TAKES CARE OF WOUNDED DOG ABROAD, NOW HOPES TO TAKE HIM HOME: ‘BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT’
A Louisiana dog named Artemis is receiving praise for protecting his 4-year-old and 7-year-old owners while they were lost in the woods for four hours earlier this week.
(St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office via Storyful)
Mary Bourg told the outlet that Artemis initially protected the girls from the search party and “wouldn’t let them through.”
“He was circling them, snarling at people to protect them,” Bourg said.
The girls had strayed more than a mile, and the family dog reportedly lay on top of them to protect them when they got tired.
CALIFORNIA HIKER FALLS 70 FEET IN TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, DOG SAVES HIM IN ‘TRUE LASSIE FASHION,’ RESCUE SAY
A Louisiana dog’s family credits him with protecting two young children who went missing
(St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office via Storyful)
After the family was reunited, the girls told their family that they had lost their way trying to keep up with Artemis.
“He kept running ahead of us. We were trying to keep up with him, but we couldn’t keep up with him,” Abigail Bourg said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Loyal Golden Retriever dog sitting on a green backyard lawn
(iStock)
Abigail’s father, Justin, says that the family has forgiven Artemis for running away.
“He’s got a free pass for a while,” Bourg said. “I won’t complain to him for chewing on blankets and shoes.”
