Police say the family dog of a Michigan boy helped them locate the child safely on Wednesday, coincidentally in a village named “Paw Paw,” after following the pup’s paw prints into the woods.
Detroit Free Press reports that Dominic Peake, the father of 2-year-old Princeton, contacted authorities after the little boy vanished from their Paw Paw (Van Buren County) home on Wednesday morning. According to Peake, he frantically searched throughout the area but only found the little boy’s sippy cup.
When officers with the Van Buren County Police Department arrived, the spotted the paw prints of the family’s mixed pit bull dog, Apollo, leading them through a muddy, wooded area close to the residence. As they followed the prints, they eventually found Princeton with his beloved dog by his side.
Your kids can truly scare you to death when their curiosity takes over. I really am thankful to all the men, women, and…
Posted by Domonic LeRoy Peake on Wednesday, June 20, 2018
“Without those dog tracks, without being able to track him for a half a mile in a muddy field, we wouldn’t have had a good direction of travel of where that boy went,” Sheriff Daniel Abbott said, according to ABC57.
Although Princeton had been out alone for at least three hours, officers found him in good health with a few minor scratches and bug bites, wearing only his diaper.
The officers later brought snacks to Apollo as a gesture of thanks to the pup for his heroic work. The boy’s relieved parents bought two new locks for the front door and installed both locks out of Princeton’s reach.
“I owe it to my dog, because if my son was alone who knows what could have happened,” Peake stated.
[Feature Photo: Dominic Peake, Princeton Peake/Facebook]
