Loyal Deaf & Blind Senior Dog Saves Missing 3-Year-Old Girl, Dubbed ‘Honorary Police Dog’

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When 3-year-old Aurora Kyle went missing from her home in Queensland, Australia, a search and rescue team was deployed to track her down. After a 15-hour-long hunt, Aurora was found safe and sound, but the team had an unlikely hero to thank for it: Aurora’s deaf, visually impaired senior cattle dog, Max.

Aurora was reported missing by her grandmother on April 20, 2018; she had strayed almost 2 kilometers from her home into Queensland’s rugged Southern Downs bushland. “It was cold, it was cold and raining,” said State Emergency Service (SES) area controller Ian Phipps, speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Over 100 SES volunteers, members of the police force, and people from the local community stepped up to help search for Aurora. The little girl had already endured the cold, wet conditions overnight, barefoot and without food or water, and her community feared for her safety.

Ultimately, it was the little girl’s grandmother, Leisa Bennett, who found her by chance after encountering the family’s dog, Max. Bennett saw the 17-year-old blue heeler at the top of a steep mountainside at around 8 o'clock in the morning and knew that Aurora was nearby.

Max led Bennett to her grandchild; an exhausted, emotional reunion ensued, and the little girl was brought down to safety. “When I heard her yell ‘Grammy’ I knew it was her,” Bennett later explained. “I shot up the mountain, and when I got to the top, the dog came to me and led me straight to her.”

“The area around the house is quite mountainous and is very inhospitable terrain to go walking in,” Phipps said, “so [Aurora had] traveled quite a distance with her dog that was quite loyal to her.”

Despite a few minor injuries sustained from a night braving the elements, Aurora was found to be in good health. “It could have gone any of 100 ways,” Bennett reflected, “but she’s here, she’s alive, she’s well, and it’s a great outcome for our family.

“[Max] never left her sight,” the little girl’s grandmother added, explaining that Aurora “smelled of dog; she slept with the dog.”

According to the BBC, Aurora’s relatives ascertained that their little girl had taken shelter with Max under a rock while overnight temperatures dipped as low as 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).

“If the young girl was crying, it’s likely the dog would have responded in ways that would have comforted her,” Professor Paul McGreevy, a University of Sydney animal-behavior expert who was consulted about Max’s extraordinary loyalty, told the BBC.

“Remaining with her and standing by her would have been number one,” he said.

“She’s a very hardy young lass to survive that without any ill effects and everyone, all the volunteers, are extremely happy,” Phipps added.

“They had traveled from all over the region just to do the search and that’s one of the things they join the SES for,” he explained, “to look after the community and do these activities, and bring happiness to a family.”

As for Max, the four-legged senior hero of the day, he was declared an “honorary police dog” by the Queensland authorities shortly thereafter.

Three days after Aurora’s safe return, Max’s celebratory status upgrade was made official; as per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Senior Sergeant James Deacon and Sergeant Trevor O'Neil visited Max at home to present him with a Queensland Police Service collar and medallion.

Queensland Police filmed the proud moment, and the footage quickly went viral. Max and Aurora’s story continues to warm hearts to this day; the loyalty of a family dog, even a deaf, visually impaired senior pup like Max, cannot be underestimated.