×

Dog credited with saving lost child’s life

In what may be the feel-good story of last week, a downstate dog is credited with saving the life of a child lost near the village of Paw Paw in rural Van Buren County.

Princeton Peake, 2, was missing from is home early Wednesday morning, according to The Associated Press. Myhia Perez, the boy’s mother, said she woke up that day to find her son gone from the bedroom and the front door unlocked.

Family members quickly searched the property, which is surrounded by cornfields, woods and swamps. They only found the child’s cup.

“First thing I thought was he’s face down in some water,” Domonic Peake, the child’s father, told AP. “I thought I was never going to see him again.”

Also missing, curiously, was the family’s pit-boxer mix, Apollo.

The authorities were summoned and were able to follow Apollo’s tracks across a muddy field to an adjacent wooded area where the boy, and dog, were located. AP noted Princeton was discovered without his diaper, covered in scratches and bug bites.

“Without those dog tracks … we wouldn’t have had a good direction of travel of where that boy went,” Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott opined.

We agree and congratulate Apollo for a job well done. The Perez home is newly equipped with locks that are out of Princeton’s reach. And Sheriff Abbott probably acted on behalf of a lot of people when he had dog food and treats for Apollo delivered to the Peake home Friday.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today