A former shelter dog in Michigan is being credited with saving the life of a 3-year-old girl who was found naked and alone in freezing weather.
The Delta Animal Shelter shared a letter on Facebook from the family of Peanut, an abused dog that arrived at the shelter nearly a year ago. The family writes that Peanut alerted her owner that she wanted to go outside Friday and took him to a field behind the house on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The owner found the little girl, brought her inside and called 911.
The Delta County Sheriff's Office confirms the story and says the girl is OK.
Authorities say they found the parents nearby in a residence with "unsafe and unsanitary living conditions."
The girl and another young girl were removed from the home. Prosecutors are reviewing the case.
Full Letter:
Dear Shelter,
I must share a heartfelt story about how wonderful our little Peanut has been! She has truly been a blessing to our family and we love having her around. As you know, her background was so heartbreaking and we are so happy that we were able to take her into our home and give her the love and the family she deserves. However, I think she still has some “sixth sense” about her past life that she has carried with her.
Today, Peanut was responsible for saving the life of a 3 year old little girl. About 11am this morning, Peanut started going crazy at our house. She was running up and down the stairs, barking and yelping. She then went and got my husband, who was in the garage working on some projects, and alerted him that she wanted to go outside. He said he could hear her running around upstairs but didn’t understand why. He let her outside where she went barreling into the field behind our house at full speed. My husband followed her and to his surprise, he found a naked, shivering, 3 year old girl curled up in a ball. He scooped her up, wrapped her in his sweatshirt, and brought her inside. He called 911 and reported the incident. By the time the ambulance and police arrived, the little girl could only say one thing – “doggie.”
Thanks to Peanut, a little girls life was saved today. She has been such a blessing to us, and now to others. Words cannot express how grateful we are that we have Peanut in our lives and how amazing she is. She is a part of our family now and thanks to wonderful people like you at the shelter, she is alive. Without her, not only would she have been gone from this world, but the life of this little girl might have been taken as well.
With the Associated Press