MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And now to Arizona, where the family of 2-year-old Boden Allen reported him missing earlier this week.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The Yavapai County Sheriff's office said that he wandered away from home and feared the worst after seeing mountain lions during their search.
KELLY: So terrifying - such a terrifying experience for any parent.
CHANG: Totally. But luckily, a hero was waiting in the wings.
KELLY: Enter Scotty Dunton and his wife, Dawn. They run Dunton Ranch near Kingman, Arizona. That's several miles from the Allens' home.
CHANG: The ranch is guarded by Buford, their dog, a 165-pound Anatolian Pyrenees.
SCOTTY DUNTON: He's, like, the guardian dog. He just patrols and stuff around there at night and keeps coyotes and things away and protects all the chickens and baby calves and everything around. He just - their breed, that's what they do. They just - they're just guardian dogs.
KELLY: OK. So back to this week, Tuesday morning - like most ranchers, Scotty Dunton gets up, prepares for the day's chores. But before he can dig into his work, he sees something, let's say, unexpected.
DUNTON: I had to run to town, so I jumped in my truck to leave. And I was going down the driveway, and I see Buford walking down the fence line with this little blond-haired kid in tow.
CHANG: Dunton's wife told him about the missing child that morning, and he immediately knew that was him.
KELLY: He took the toddler inside, fed him some string cheese and a banana and called the sheriff.
DUNTON: I asked him - I said, did you walk all night? And he said, no. I said, what - you know, what did you do? And he kept saying, tree. I said, did you go lay under a tree? And he said, yep. And I said, did my dog find you? And he said, yep.
CHANG: Buford, or Big Buford, as I've decided to nickname him, had apparently seen the lost boy wandering near the grounds and led him back to safety.
DUNTON: He's a big dog, but he's got the most laid-back personality, even when he was a puppy. He's just real calm, laid-back, doesn't really get excited over much.
KELLY: Dunton followed the toddler's tracks more than a mile, and Buford's paw prints were right next to the kid's all along the way.
DUNTON: His dad just frantically ran over, you know, and grabbed him. And he was so glad to see him and rightly so. I can't even imagine the ordeal they went through, so...
CHANG: A massive sigh of relief for everyone.
DUNTON: There was a thousand ways that could have gone really, really bad, and it turned out for the best.
KELLY: The best for little Boden and, of course, his family, and, as it turns out, for Big Buford, too.
DUNTON: Oh, yeah. Everybody was like, you need to cook him a steak for dinner, so my wife did. She - he had a pound-and-a-half ribeye for dinner. So yeah, he got a treat.
KELLY: Not all heroes wear capes, but apparently, some wear collars.
CHANG: And some fluffy fur.
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