Golden Retriever Dubbed Hero Dog For Protecting Two Sisters Who Went Missing In The Woods

Jan 20, 2023 by apost team

Artemis, a 3-year-old Golden Retriever, has been regarded as a hero dog for protecting two young sisters who got lost in the woods for four hours. Back in October of 2018, Abigail and Cecilia Bourg of Folsom, Louisiana, wandered off too far from their home and comfort zone with their faithful four-legged playmate.

The girls' parents, Justin and Mary Bourg, were beside themselves upon realizing that their daughters, both under seven years old, might never come back. Just a few hours before they went missing, Abigail and Cecilia had been playing with Artemis on their six-acre property as they had done so many times before. 

A lost child is every parent's worst nightmare, let alone two missing girls. However, Mary was confident of finding her daughters because they knew sections of the woods quite well, and this was their favorite play area with the Golden Retriever. 

However, as the hours dragged on and as the sun went down, Justin admitted to having the worst thoughts about his daughters in danger. According to the experts, it's critical to find missing people within the first 48 to 72 hours. If the search continues beyond this time frame, then investigators will be left with fewer leads to follow. 

The experts also said that raising as much awareness about missing people as possible will be helpful to the authorities who are working to find every lead. Thus, apart from alerting the authorities, Mary immediately posted about her daughters getting lost in the woods on Facebook. She also told the family's church community. 

Pretty soon, news of Abigail and Cecille getting lost in the woods was all over their Folsom town. 

As the police combed through the woods with search crews, drones, rescuers on horses, ATVs and helicopters, a neighbor named Rooster Cowart also ventured out of the woods to search for the girls. He was aware of the risks in the area, such as a bunch of wild hogs with volatile temperaments. Cowart was sure he heard the girls cry as Artemis barked and seemingly fended off a threat. 

Moments later, Cowart and other rescuers were finally able to locate the girls and saw that Artemis was wary of the people coming closer to them. The Golden Retriever was circling the girls, and according to Mary, Artemis was growling at the rescuers.  

"I don't know how long it took for the people to be able to actually get access to the kids because he was protecting them."

Michael Leake, one of the rescuers with Cowart, relayed to the girls' mother that Artemis almost bit him off because he rushed towards them. His wife, April, however, was able to get closer to Abigail and Cecilia without Artemis coming after her. She allowed the dog to sniff her jacket and her hand until April was able to pet the dog.

The rescuers told Mary that her oldest daughter was calm, but Cecilia was lying on the ground and quite scared when they found the missing kids. The younger child held on to April when they got out of the woods. 

After a four-hour ordeal, Mary acknowledged all the generous souls who helped find her daughters and also took care of Artemis in the aftermath. The girls told their parents that the reason they wandered too far was that they were following the dog. 

Justin, however, said Artemis is going to get a free pass because of how he fiercely protected his daughters. 

apost.com

Artemis was such a good dog, wasn't he? What do you think of this story? Pass this along to friends or family members who may love a good story about dogs!