A neighborhood dog is being hailed as a hero after helping locate a toddler who went missing in Kentucky.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) has shared dramatic bodycam footage of the moment a barking dog led them to a missing 3-year-old child.
Officers from the LMPD’s seventh division had been deployed to the area on foot on January 7, while flying drones and helicopter support were in operation. Ultimately, however, it was the intervention of man’s best friend that helped facilitate a happy family reunion.
“Any time you have a kid that young, you’re fearful,” Officer Josh Thompson says on the video posted to Facebook. “When it’s a missing kid under the age of 11, if you’re not on a run actively, everyone goes to it.”
A moment later, a neighbor can be heard telling police that a child was seen going toward one of the neighboring properties.
As officers approach the house, a barking dog comes into view.
Police are initially hesitant to interact with the canine. “I’m kind of being a little leery of the dog. He’s barking, chirping at me a little bit, and then continues to follow me back to the front porch again to knock on the house again,” Thompson says.
A 2024 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concluded that working dogs’ biological capacities—especially olfaction—make them indispensable in tasks such as narcotics, explosives, and device detection. This may not have been a police dog, but officers were intrigued to see why the animal was barking, and told the canine, “Let’s go find him!”
At that point, the dog heads off in the direction of the backyard behind the house, with the officers close behind.
They find the backdoor to the home is open. However, the dog instead directs them to a nearby vehicle. Incredibly, the young boy was found inside, scared but unharmed. “Lassie found him!” an officer is heard to say on the video.
The boy was quickly reunited with his family—thanks to the fine work of the dog involved.
Writing alongside the video posted to Facebook, Louisville Metro Police Department praised the “outstanding work by our officers, and a four‑legged friend who reminded us that heroes come in all forms.”
The canine’s efforts were praised by those commenting on the Facebook video.
“We need to find that dogs location! He needs lots of treats delivered!” one user wrote.
“If that dog doesn’t get a T-Bone dinner for the rest of forever! Send him to me!” a second commented.
A third said, “Hire that pooch,” with a fourth commenting: “Officer needs take that dog, give it a home and call it trooper.”
A fifth, meanwhile, simply declared: “the dog is the real HERO.”
Newsweek has contacted the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
