Arizona parents Sarah and Corey Allen lived through every parent’s worst nightmare on April 14 when their two-year-old son Bodin went missing. The tot quietly left home around 5pm local time while his parents were distracted — Corey was working on the roof, and Sarah was changing diapers for Bodin’s one-year-old sibling. 16 harrowing hours and one 40-person search team later, Bodin was found at last… at a ranch seven miles away, with three mountain ranges and two mountain lion sightings in the path. That kid covered a lot of ground! And he made it through the trek safely thanks to one intrepid ranch worker: Buford, ranch owner Scotty Dunton’s faithful Anatolian Pyrenees. Buford regularly patrols his property, so when he spotted Bodin by a tree in the wee hours of the night, he basically shepherded the toddler to the main house, whereupon Dunton reached out to the police. And now? Bodin’s parents say “he’s fine like nothing ever happened.” Job well done, Buford.
A parent’s worst nightmare: Corey later told KPNX that he was working outside while Sarah was taking care of Bodin’s younger sibling at the time of the incident. Sarah recalled Bodin going outside to play. But when she called out his name after changing her younger child’s diaper, Bodin didn’t answer. “My instinct was maybe he got trafficked or something,” Corey said, per the Arizona Republic. “And he could be states away. Who knows what’s going on? And that feeling just kept intensifying by the minute.” … “I didn’t even know how to process it,” Sarah told KPNX. “I looked at his empty bed in the middle of the night, and I’m like, ‘This isn’t real, how is he not here? How is he out in the dark alone? How is that real?’” “It’s like the worst living nightmare any parent can feel,” Corey said.
Lost and found… 7 miles away: After 16 hours of searching for the child — who was wearing a blue tank top and pajama pants when he disappeared, according to a police missing person’s poster shared via Facebook — he was discovered on the property of a rancher approximately seven miles from home. “Upon arrival at the ranch, deputies confirmed that this indeed was the missing boy,” the police said in their statement. Scotty Dunton, who was identified as the rancher, per KPNX, said that his dog Buford had discovered the child while guarding his property.
Toddler’s best friend: Dunton said Buford “likely protected and directed the missing boy to safety,” in an on-camera police interview. The rancher told authorities that finding the child, who he said was “upset” but “in good shape,” was “a relief.” “I was ecstatic that he was ok and that my dog found him,” he added. Bodin also told the rancher that he had been discovered by the dog, and Anatolian Pyrenees, after “holing up” under a tree all night. “He loves kids, so he wouldn’t leave him when he found him,” Dunton further said of his dog. The rancher also said that Buford typically patrolled the property “all night” to ward off coyotes.
The kid is totally unfazed, thank dog: Corey later told KPNX that it felt like God sent that dog to rescue Bodin, who walked away with only some minor scratches. “It’s unreal, it’s unbelievable and it’s a miracle,” Sarah also said, according to the outlet. “[Bodin is] here, he’s healthy, he’s fine like nothing ever happened, it still feels like a dream.” The couple thanked Dunton in person on Thursday, April 17, KPNX further reported.
I know I say this at a minimum of once a week now, but it’s true each and every time: we do not deserve these loving floofs! They are the best of us. Scotty Dunton told NBC News that he was able to trace Buford and Bodin’s paw prints to a mile out from the ranch that they walked together. I can just imagine Buford softly nudging Bodin with his snout to say “Come with me, kid. I gotcha.” Buford didn’t pose long for the cameras — he probably wants to keep a level head for simply doing what any very good boy or girl would do — but from the glimpses we got, he strikes me as a gentle giant. Ready to do battle against mountain lions and coyotes and bears, no doubt, but preferring to keep things quiet and orderly. And don’t worry, Dunton confirmed that Buford was served up a homemade steak dinner for his heroic deed.
I hope Buford and Bodin keep up a friendship. And if I could make one recommendation to Bodin’s parents, it would be to get a dog of their own! I know they have their hands full with two kids aged two and under. But the right family dog would bark his head off if he saw one of his people wandering away from home! Just sayin’…