2-year-old boy guided to safety by rancher's dog after wandering 7 miles alone in Arizona wilderness

Yahoo

16-04-2025

A ranch dog in Arizona is being hailed as a hero after it led a lost toddler out of the desert wilderness and back to safety.
Officials in Kingman reported that a two-year-old child slipped away from his home on Monday night and wandered into the rugged wilds of the Arizona countryside. The child's disappearance kicked off a 16-hour search that ended on Tuesday morning after the boy was found by an unlikely rescuer.
Scotty Dunton, of Dunton Ranch, said he had heard about the missing child, identified as Boden Allen, in the local news, and was shocked when he saw a toddler matching the missing child's description wandering onto his property alongside his dog, Buford.
"I'd heard about the missing child before I was going to town, and when I was driving out the driveway I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance," the rancher told KPHO. "I look up, and there's a little kid standing there with my dog."
The boy wandered seven miles from his home in Seligman, crossed rough canyon lands, and endured a cold night in the desert before proceeding to Dunton's Ranch.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office even noted that a pair of mountain lions had been spotted on their thermal imaging cameras while deputies were searching for the boy.
Dunton said his ranch and Boden's home are separated by "three big mountain ranges" and "big valleys," and believes it's likely the boy followed a dirt path under nearby power lines to make it to his ranch. Even following the path, Dunton said he still "can't believe the kid made it that far," according to CBS News.
After bringing Boden in, Dunton asked the boy if he had walked all night. The boy reportedly said he slept under a tree during the night. The rancher then asked if his dog, an Anatolian Pyrenees named Buford, found him. The boy reportedly said yes.
Dunton said Buford is a "guardian" by his nature and spends his evening patrolling the ranch.
'He goes out at night and just kind of patrols. He goes half a mile, a mile from the house and just makes big loops, keeps coyotes out," the rancher told 12 News.
He told KPHO that he wasn't surprised Buford took a special interest in Boden.
"It's what he does. He loves kids, so I can imagine he wouldn't leave him when he found him," Dunton said. "It was a relief that he was alive. I was ecstatic that he was OK and that my dog found him."
Dunton provided Boden with water and shelter and notified law enforcement that the boy had been found. The toddler was eventually reunited with the family, but not before Dunton offered him some kudos for making it through his harrowing journey.
'I told him, 'Buddy, you're the toughest little two-year-old I've ever seen.' He's like, 'Yep,'" Dunton told 12 News.
The rancher told the broadcaster he planned to reward Buford for a job well done.
"Oh, he's getting steak dinner tonight, my wife already said," Dunton said. "He did a great job."