Hero dog saves her 84-year-old owner
A hero dog has led a search party through dense bushland to save an 84-year-old man.
Things weren’t looking good for Manfred Classen, 84, who became disoriented and lost on a bushwalk near his home in Sydney’s north-west. Mr Classen’s wife suffers from dementia and didn’t raise the alarm, but when his son Lovell tried to get into contact on Thursday something was amiss.
A police search was promptly launched with SES crews scouring the ground and achieving little headway until the search party heard some whining in the distance. It was Mr Classen’s loyal Staffy Kiara, who had remained by her owner’s side during the night.
Kiara led the search party for 90 minutes through dense bushland and up and down two mountains before they eventually found Mr Classen who, while in a bad way, was relatively safe.
Mr Classen’s son Lovell told the Today Show about the remarkable experience, “"I just hugged him and I couldn't believe it. He's definitely smashed his nose on something and had blood all over his face and scratches all over his body. He was barefoot in a t-shirt. He’s definitely battered and bruised by his experience. (But) he’s in recovery mode.”
What makes the story even more remarkable is the fact that the family only adopted Kiara from a pound a year ago, but in that short time she’s managed to bond with Mr Classen.
Inspector Jackie Smith spoke of Kiara’s heroic actions, "The dog was just absolutely wonderful. It's a first in my career, I've never seen anything like that before so a great story."
Video credit: Youtube / World News