Posted on 05/09/2014 9:02:12 AM PDT by heartwood
A 3-year-old North Dakota boy who disappeared for nearly seven hours was later found under the protective cover of the family’s pet dog, authorities said.
Carson Urness disappeared from his family’s 10-plus acre property in Cooperstown, North Dakota, around 7:30 p.m. Monday after being let out to play while his mom worked inside the home, the boy’s father told ABC News.
“She checked on him again at 7:30 and he was gone,” Carson’s father, Brock Urness, said of his wife, Courtney, who was inside taking care of the couple’s 11-month-old daughter while Carson played.
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Cooper is the family’s dog — a German Shepherd, Labrador and Golden Retriever “mutt,” as Urness calls him — that the family adopted three years ago after he was left on the side of the road near a relative’s home.
The Urnesses searched for Carson until 8:30 p.m. when they called 911. Less than 30 minutes later, the local police and fire departments had launched an aerial and ground search for Carson, aided by 200 neighbors, family and friends from Cooperstown, population about 800.
“They had an airplane here searching for him and 60 four-wheelers and people looking on foot and didn’t find anything,” Urness said.
Just before officials planned to call off the search for the night, around 2:30 a.m., officials decided to send out one last four-wheeler for a final sweep of the property.
“That four-wheeler found him about a mile away from our house, in the middle of one of our fields by a pasture,” Urness said. “Carson was in tall grass but when they shone lights down to sweep it, the dog stuck its head out.”
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Both Cooper and Carson were uninjured, save for Carson’s cold feet, which were the only body part of his that Cooper did not cover.
“Carson told his mom that Cooper stayed on top of him and kept him safe and warm,” Urness said. “He told her that he was a little scared when it got dark because he doesn’t like the dark.”
Some day I will post how a police officer unfastened his holster at my dog. Didn’t draw, didn’t fire, just really really tense.
He actually turned out to be a decent guy with too much cop reflexes and not enough dog sense.
Agreed. I don’t care where you live. That mom is very lucky.
It’s May. They are east river, so maybe He’s not a very big boy and it was dark. But that’s north of Fargo. They must not have cattle.
yeah...at 7:30pm???? I, as a child, would have been in bed at that time!
That’s why dogs are the best. They are the definition of loyalty and self-sacrifice. If only people were more like dogs.
She's Beta, second in command. She takes over when you're gone.
Lets see a cat do that!
Who in blazes lets their young children play outside at 7:30pm?
On checking further, sunset in North Dakota is currently around 9pm. However, temperatures are from 34F to 57F, which is way too cold for an unattended 3 year old.
I have never considered that and its a bit concerning. But it fits some other behavior issues we have on occasion. She is well trained and very obedient, especially for me. But she does not obey as well for my wife and almost ignores my youngest son. I never considered that she may think she is beta. That's fascinating now that I think about it.
She is not allowed on the furniture (except my kids beds) but is sometimes brazen about jumping on the couch or our bed when I am not around. Of course she sneaks on the couch when we are not home. She doesn't realize I can feel the warm spot.
She has two of her own beds (one downstairs and one in my room). But she chooses to sleep with the kids sometimes, usually when one of them is sick.
I feel kind of silly for never considering your point in the past. I just always assumed that she recognized my wife as the beta and I put the dog on par with my youngest son in the hierarchy.
If the cat had been anywhere near the child, it would have been found under him. LOL! Mostly likely, cat would have just gone home. And I’m a cat person!
A cat would have been begging the kid for food LOL
She’s just doing her job as she understands it when you’re away, as far as becoming more protective of the yard and kids. Almost all dogs will sneak in a little guilty pleasure such as getting on a couch or chair when you’re not at home. She just sounds like a good dog needing a little more work on her socialization, don’t punish her. Sounds pretty young, too? Positive reinforcement for desired behavior, and slowly introduce her “new” place in the pack hierarchy. Is your wife involved in your activities with the dog, taking her for walks, etc.? It really doesn’t have to be all that competitive. Dogs do have favorites though, male dogs tend to fawn over women, female dogs tend to get very attached to men. If your home life will permit it, a neutered male dog for a buddy, one that won’t mind her needing to be dominant, possibly smaller than her, will change the dynamic and take some of the burden away from her attempts to manage her people, lol.
That's exactly what I thought - what a great mixture to be a protector for children.
For me, my Yorkie is a great guard dog because she can hear when any car or person is nearby in front of the house and goes into a barking fit to alert me, even running to my chair, jumping up and beating me in the chest to go look. And, that goes for any squirrel or bird who is on the wall around my small walled in garden or bird actually in the garden. And, if for some reason I cry, she is in the chair and licking the tears. Dogs are wonderful creatures who think and act on those thoughts.
Well, if a village really does raise a child, this sounds like a good one to be in.
Good on ya, Cooper. Good dog.
That's a polite way to establish her position in the pack ahead of the dog. Much less traumatic than forcing the issue.
Now if only he had barked about six hours earlier...
He could bark his fool head off and nobody would hear with 60 4-wheelers buzzing around.
My Airedale male likes me, but he loves my wife and kid. Worries about them constantly.
I like the other explanation here. But I will add about my previous dog, while paying respect to my submissive girl who just died the other day.
My old Shepherd was a natural dominant dog. Not to be confused with aggression. But she did not “try” anyone as is often suggested. Even as a teenage girl I established who was boss, as well as my parents. She accepted this quite readily albeit stubbornly sometimes trying to ignore my training. But I became boss while she was “beta”. She had no qualms about establishing herself as boss dog over any beast in the area, but she was NEVER a bully or pest of any kind just to prove herself. Only if the dog pushed his luck with her did he get a handful. It was merely attitude, not action. She was very secure in her position.
When our dog was just a pup she recognized me as alpha, thought the older dog was her play toy, and thought she was beta over my wife. She refused to listen to anything my wife said. One day my wife told her to come and she just walked away. My wife gave her a swat on the rump and Noiree suddenly realized she was not beta.
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