A dog that rescued a missing toddler in Arizona last week is living the good life.
Ever since Buford found young Boden Allen, gifts have poured in for the hound, NBC News reported Tuesday.
“Toys, chew toys, snacks, you name it — just a little bit of everything,” Scotty Dunton, the rancher to whom Buford belongs, said.
On April 14, 2-year-old Boden wandered from his parents’ home in Seligman, Arizona.
His father, Cory Allen, had been working on the roof, while Boden’s mother, Sarah, had been watching the boy.
Unable to find their son, the couple called family for help before eventually contacting the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
BUFORD the hero Anatolian Shepherd reunites w/ toddler he saved! 🐶❤️
The rancher’s dog found the little boy after he wandered away from his home, through dangerous parts of the Arizona desert.
Anatolians are amazing!! We love you Buford!! ❤️
Twitter / X / Rescue Network… pic.twitter.com/4eH9kx5jIO
— Life coaching & wellness services (@Good_vibes_up) April 22, 2025
More than 40 search and rescue members were involved in the 16-hour search that followed, according to a YCSO news release.
During the overnight operation, a helicopter spotted two mountain lions in the area.
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“I didn’t even know how to process,” Sarah said. “I looked at his empty bed in the middle of the night, and I’m like, ‘This isn’t real, he’s not — how is he not here? How is he out by himself somewhere in the dark?’”
Rancher Dunton, who lives seven miles away from the Allen family, had heard the news about the missing boy, according to KPNX in Phoenix.
But he didn’t expect to see the toddler walking along the road with Buford the morning after the disappearance.
Hero Dog Buford Finds Lost Toddler After 7-Mile Trek in Arizona Wilderness pic.twitter.com/jye559QD4f
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 23, 2025
“That’s a lot of country he went through. Seven miles from here to there,” Dunton said. “There’s three big canyons and ridges all the way leading to where he came from, so that’s a long rough piece of country. It’s amazing he made it as far as he did.”
The dog had found the boy sleeping under a tree.
Buford is a 6-year-old Anatolian Pyrenees, a natural guardian, Dunton said.
“He goes out at night and just kind of patrols. He goes half a mile, a mile from the house and just makes big loops, keeps coyotes out,” Dunton said.
The Sheriff’s office awarded Buford a certificate, and he’s now an honorary Search K-9 with a special vest to prove it, according to a news release from the Yavapai County Search and Rescue K9 Team.
“God sent that dog to rescue my son,” Cory Allen said.
Dunton has heard from people all over the world since the rescue, many of them sending gifts to thank Buford.
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