Missing boy's dog credited with saving his life

The dog was praised and was called a hero for keeping his master safe as they got lost for 22 hours.

On April 23, 2018, six-year-old Kaydon Leach went missing in Blount County, Tennessee. He was with his dog, Chula, and it was already evening at the time.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation started searching for the boy and his dog around 7 p.m. They also issued an Endangered Child Alert for little Kaydon.

Eventually, after almost a day, Kaydon and Chula were found about half a mile away from their home in the Top of the World Community in Blount County. It was about three in the afternoon of April 24th.

The search became a large scale one as it included hundreds of searchers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, volunteer search parties, K-9 teams, Blount County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, and a Black Hawk military helicopter.

Despite the many heroes who looked for the boy, only one is regarded as the ultimate saver, none other than Kaydon’s black-and-white terrier, Chula.

Supposedly, Chula was guarding his master to keep him safe until they were rescued, as shared by Liftable.

“The dog actually growled at the rescuers when they approached Kaydon,” said Blount County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff French.

Chula never faltered and chose to stay with his owner through the dark night and the cold breeze.

Aaron Woods, a Blount County fireman, was one of the rescuers who found Kaydon and Chula.

He shared, “I keep saying he popped up. To me, he did, because I had just looked over there. What I got to him, the dog was kinda giving me a little growl like ‘who are you?'”

When Kaydon was found, he was freezing from the cold and had to be wrapped with jackets. The rescuers gave him a piggyback ride up the mountain towards the road. He was then brought to Blount Memorial Hospital.

Later on, Kaydon’s grateful family released a statement to thank everyone who helped them in searching for their son.