Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Dogs Save Lives

A 12-year-old Boy Scout whose favorite book was about a youngster lost in the wilderness now has his own harrowing survival tale to tell after rescuers found him Tuesday, dehydrated and disoriented from four days in the wooded mountains of North Carolina.
A rescue dog picked up Michael Auberry's scent less than a mile from the campsite where he had wandered away from his troop Saturday. The boy's father speculated that he was simply homesick and wanted to hitchhike home. The disappearance touched off an intensive search involving bloodhounds, heat-seeking helicopters and dozens of volunteers on foot.
"He saw the helicopters and heard people calling him, but he yelled back and they didn't hear him," said his father, Kent Auberry. "He's very tired. He's very dehydrated. But he came through this in unbelievable fashion."
Bauer said as many as 100 people searched for Auberry on Tuesday, including Misha Marshall, whose dog Gandalf picked up the boy's scent.
The black 2-year-old Shiloh Shepherd "popped his head three times" — and there was Michael, she said.

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