Latest news with #Bodin
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ranch dog named 'Buford' honored for 'vital role' in saving missing toddler in Arizona
Buford, a rancher's dog in Arizona credited with helping protect and rescue a toddler who went missing in Arizona last week, is basking in glory as a hero. The 6-year-old Great Pyrenees/Anatolian mix received an "Honorary Search and Rescue Certificate" and a vest by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office on April 22 for being a "source of comfort to the family and community," and playing "a vital role in representing the spirit of keeping our community safe," the law enforcement agency said in a post on Facebook. "Buford's vigilance and protective instincts, combined with Scottie Dunton's swift response, ensured Bodin's safe return to his family," Buford's certificate reads, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. "Your actions exemplify the highest standards of community service and canine heroism." Not only that, but Buford is also being showered with gifts from strangers for protecting the 2-year-old boy and leading him to safety, his owner, Scotty Dunton, told KPNX. "Toys, chew toys, snacks, you name it, just a little bit of everything," Dunton said, adding he has also been receiving messages for Buford from across the world. Need a break? The 2-year-old, identified as Bodin Allen by the Arizona Republic, was reported missing on April 14. The toddler had wandered away from his home in Seligman, Arizona, about 180 miles southeast of Las Vegas, and into rough terrain, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. A search and rescue party consisting of 40 members was put together to look for the toddler, and he was found after approximately 16 hours with Buford in the rancher's driveway, about seven miles away from his home. Dunton, at the time, had said he spotted the toddler just as he was headed to town. "When I was driving out the driveway, I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance," Dunton, who owns Dunton Ranch in Kingman, had said. "I look up and the little kid's standing there with my dog." "I can't believe that kid made it that far," he added. Dunton's wife, Dawn, told USA TODAY over email that she wasn't home at the time of the rescue, but the "child was in fairly good condition all things considered." "He was crying but Scotty was able to comfort him. His little face was all dirty and of course he was hungry and thirsty," Dawn said. "He is doing well now after some much needed rest in the safety of his home." Bodin's mother, Sarah Allen, told the Arizona Republic, she was tending to their 1-year-old child when the toddler wandered off in the afternoon of April 14, adding it was not unusual for Bodin to go outdoors and play in the dirt. A few minutes later when she went outside to look for her child, she couldn't find him anywhere. "My instinct was maybe he got trafficked or something," Bodin's father, Corey Allen, told the Arizona Republic. "And he could be states away. Who knows what's going on? And that feeling just kept intensifying by the minute." Over the next few hours, which Corey described as "the weakest moment of our lives," search and rescue officials looked for the toddler far and wide. "I feel like I'm about to be ended as a person," Corey told the Arizona Republic. "I'm trying to hold my son in my arms, and he's not there." Bodin, meanwhile, dressed only in pajama bottoms, a tank top, and sneakers, was wandering under the full moon, somewhere in the seven miles between the Allen property and a ranch guarded by the 150-pound dog Buford. Around 8 a.m. the next morning, as Scotty was getting ready to go into town, he saw Buford coming down the fence line with a little blond boy and alerted the family. "I've just had the most emotional meltdown. I've never cried that hard," Corey said, describing the moment before he found out his son was found. Sarah said their son was completely unfazed by the incident and "acted like nothing even happened." The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office also celebrated Bodin by giving him "a challenge coin" to acknowledge "their courageous spirit and commitment to helping others." Dunton said he believes the toddler reached the ranch by following a road right next to a power line before Buford found the boy. Buford "loves kids, so I can imagine he wouldn't leave him when he found him," Dunton said. "We chose him from the litter because of his chill demeanor," Dawn said, adding that Buford is a livestock guardian breed, and it is their nature to roam and protect. "Buford has always been a natural babysitter, whether it be with baby animals or with children," Dawn added. Contributing: Julia Gomez, USA TODAY / Caitlin McGlade, Arizona Republic Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranch dog 'Buford' celebrated for saving missing toddler in Arizona
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Buford the dog honored after rescue of missing toddler in northern Arizona
A heartwarming reunion took place on April 21 as 2-year-old Bodin Allen was reconnected with Buford, the ranch dog who played a crucial role in finding the toddler after he went missing in northern Arizona. On April 14, Bodin wandered away from his home in Seligman, sparking an intensive search by dozens of law enforcement officers and search-and-rescue teams. But it was Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, who found Bodin 7 miles from his home, guiding him to safety after the boy had spent the night alone under a tree. Buford's owner, Scottie Dunton, helped with the boy's safe return to his family after he saw Bodin and Buford wandering his property. In a special ceremony, Buford was honored for his heroics, receiving an honorary search-and-rescue certificate and a rescue vest. Yavapai County deputies gave Bodin a challenge coin in recognition of his bravery during the ordeal. The toddler had traveled through rugged, rural terrain in Yavapai County, remaining uninjured and avoiding wildlife spotted by authorities during the search. Buford found the boy while patrolling his land and likely shepherded him to safety. "Buford's vigilance and protective instincts, combined with Scottie Dunton's swift response, ensured Bodin's safe return to his family," Buford's certificate read. "Your actions exemplify the highest standards of community service and canine heroism." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Buford the dog honored after rescue of missing toddler in northern Arizona
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
A sleepless, terrifying night ends with good news for Arizona family
They moved to the country for a simpler life, a safer life. But in an instant − a quick trip to the bathroom and a diaper change on April 14 − their 2-year-old son vanished. By nightfall, their property would swarm with loudspeakers, lights, officers, search dogs, drones and volunteers from Prescott. By the following day, strangers on the internet were already questioning their parenting and their motives for reporting their son missing. Bodin Rain Allen was born July 15, 2022, in Kingman, Arizona, a day when his dad, Corey, saw double rainbows. Bodin was his mother's first natural birth after three C-sections, defying doctors' expectations of what was possible. Corey and his wife Sarah knew they wanted Bodin two years before he was a line on a pregnancy test. They knew they wanted Bodin to grow up surrounded by the quiet expanse of the high desert, not the noisy, messy buzz of city life where screen time is so often a babysitter. So his childhood has been filled with romping and biking among the junipers and the dirt with his dog. So Sarah wasn't worried when she heard the door open and close while she was in the bathroom. She didn't think much of it when Bodin didn't return inside as she changed his baby brother's diaper either. A few moments later, she stepped outside to find Bodin. She checked behind the red truck, searched around the bushes. She hollered. It was 3:30 p.m. She called her sister. Did he wander next door to her place? No. She and her husband Corey kept hollering. Nothing. By about 4:30 p.m., the rest of their kids had come home from school and joined the search. Sarah called the Seligman Fire Department. "My instinct was maybe he got trafficked or something. And he could be states away. Who knows what's going on? And that feeling just kept intensifying by the minute," Corey said. The Seligman Fire Chief rang the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office right after Sarah called him. Sgt. Blake Lanoue in Prescott sent out alerts to the 200 volunteers they rely on for missing person searches — everyday people with skills in tracking, rock climbing, off-road driving, or sometimes simply just not tiring out. Forty of them dropped what they were doing and hit the road. Within a couple hours, they met Lanoue and his team, along with search squads from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Coconino Sheriff's Department, on the Allen property about 40 miles east of Kingman. Lanoue's team established a command post and recorded a message from Sarah to broadcast over loudspeakers, urging Bodin to come home. They also queued up the theme song from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, his favorite show, to play across the land. Maybe he'd follow the tune and emerge from a hiding spot, they thought. A social media post announcing the missing boy circulated. It had his name spelled wrong: "Boden." Sarah didn't have the energy to correct them. His picture was out there, and that was what mattered. To Corey, it felt like a movie. Search and rescue teams rely on an algorithm built from decades' worth of behaviors from lost people. It adjusts based on factors like age and health, helping teams estimate how far someone is likely to travel based on how long they've been missing. As time passes, search crews expand their radius based on that algorithm. The algorithm did not work on Bodin. At about 1 a.m., Sarah said investigators interrogated her outside, probing every detail of her day before Bodin went missing. They separated Corey and questioned him in the same way. They had already pulled everything out of the cabinets, searched under the couch and checked inside the washer five times. At some point, someone started taping areas that had already been checked, but then someone else would still check those places. It felt as though they were looking for a place to hide a body, not searching for a living child, Sarah said. "And we're just bawling our eyes out in the weakest moment of our lives and I feel like I'm about to be ended as a person. Just an empty vessel," Corey said. "I'm trying to hold my son in my arms and he's not there." Meanwhile, Bodin was wandering under the full moon, somewhere in the seven miles between the Allen property and a ranch guarded by a 150-pound dog named Buford. Bodin was dressed only in pajama bottoms, a tank top, and sneakers. Buford is a 7-year-old Anatolian Pyrenees with smokey blond fluff and dark grey patches on his back, head and ears. His dark eyes have known lifetimes. He's always been laid back. His family says he never went through the typical raptor phase most puppies do, where their teeth are like tiny knives and they constantly try to chew on your hands. Buford loves belly rubs—scratch the right spot, and his back leg kicks uncontrollably while he snorts. But he also loves to work. He patrols the 25,000-acre ranch to keep coyotes and mountain lions from eating the ranch animals. He cuddles newborn calves to keep them warm. He instinctively started caring for the babies when he was just a year old. He takes his job of protecting calves seriously: the only human he's ever bitten was the butcher. Dawn Dunton, Buford's human mama, saw the poster about Bodin on Facebook in the early hours of April 15. A little boy named "Boden Allen" was missing, last seen about 10 miles down I-40 from her ranch. She mentioned it to her husband Scotty. At about 8 a.m., Scotty was getting ready to go into town and saw Buford coming down the fence line with a little blonde boy. "Not that many 2-year-olds running around out here, so it didn't take long to figure out who it was," Scotty said. Bodin was cold and sobbing. Scotty scooped him up and brought him inside, sat him down, and poured him several glasses of water, which Bodin eagerly drank. He handed him a few string cheeses to eat and then called the Mohave County Sheriff's Department. Some folks from Lanoue's team rushed to the ranch, bearing bananas for the dehydrated boy. And then they took him home. Heartwarming stories: How Mesa High's Ashby Beverley made it back to baseball after a serious car crash Around that same time, Sarah and Corey's eyes met. They hadn't slept. They hadn't even really seen each other that night. "I've just had the most emotional meltdown. I've never cried that hard," Corey said. Within the hour, at about 8:40 a.m., they got a message. They don't remember where it came from. Somewhere on social media. Their son was found. Corey ran out to the command post, and there was Bodin, in Scotty's arms. He rushed to him, looking him over carefully: a scratch on his arm, a scuff on his side, a hole in his pants. And that was it. "He acted like nothing even happened," Sarah said. "I was like, 'Bo where'd you go?' and he holds up his arm and he's all 'My arm' and I'm like 'You got a scratch, Ok? But where did you go?'" Bo is a man of few words. He's only two after all. He will answer with a yes or no. So it's hard to tell what really happened that night and why he was out under the full moon. As Bodin devoured string cheese, Scotty had asked him a few questions and pieced together what had happened — Buford had found him and curled up beside him under a tree, keeping him warm through the night. It made sense. That's exactly what Buford does with the calves. "Buford was just doing what feels natural to him," Dawn said. Scotty got tired of hearing people post on social media in disbelief that a 2-year-old boy could walk seven miles, some calling the whole thing a hoax or criticizing Bodin's parents. "It was just annoying. People are so cruel," Scotty said. "I just wanted to find out for myself. When I first saw him in the driveway I didn't know if someone kidnapped him and dropped him off here or what happened. That's a long way to go for a kid." It is an extraordinary situation. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2-year-olds are still learning coordination when they walk and they have a very short attention span. Most children don't have enough motor skills to participate in sports until they are at least 6. The search and rescue team's algorithm would have maxed Bodin out at four miles, based on the 16 hours he was gone. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office determined there wasn't any foul play. So Scotty saddled up and followed Bodin's tracks. Scotty's an old hand at this: he has run out of wall space to mount the animals he's hunted over the years. He traced the powerline trail that runs between his ranch and the Allens' place, a rugged dirt road used by off-road service vehicles. Scotty found Bodin's tracks in a wash three miles down the powerline trail, and found them again five miles away and then six miles away. Bodin, who appears unfazed by his adventure, may not know it but he's changed things for his parents, for law enforcement, for Scotty and for Buford. Sarah makes sure someone is watching Bodin when he's outside. Corey wants to build a coalition of people in the community to construct lighthouses to help guide kids who might be lost or stolen. Scotty, used to keeping to himself, has been fielding calls from news outlets across the country eager to share Buford's story. AI-generated children's books about Buford and Bodin have started popping up, along with YouTube videos featuring songs about their adventure. And though Buford may not know it, he's famous now. For the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, Bodin's adventure is a lesson that some missing people defy the algorithm, and the search and rescue team should keep that in mind, Lanoue said. "He defies my algorithm, too," Corey said. Reach Caitlin McGlade at Follow her on BlueSky, @ This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family relieved after missing boy rescued by ranch dog in Arizona
