Missing boy survives overnight by cuddling with puppies, rescuers say

A 10-year-old boy with Down syndrome may have been kept safe, thanks to a little help from man's best friend.

Rescuers say that Kyle Camp, who wandered away from his Hackleburg, Ala., home and got lost in the woods, survived the overnight cold temperatures by cuddling with his pet puppies, CBS affiliate WHNT-TV reports.

Kyle went missing on Tuesday night, and nearly 150 volunteers in the small town teamed up to start a search party.

After about 15 hours, Jamie Swinney, one of the searchers, discovered Kyle the next morning in the woods, near a creek. He was found wet, wearing no shoes or jacket and snuggled up with the puppies.

"He was with four little puppies, and the mother dog kept barking, and I just followed her, kept listening to her bark and finally run across him," Swinney told WHNT-TV.

Another searcher, Joe Garnada, said the boy was "pretty rough" and "scratched up" but appeared to be in good health.

Officials at the Marion County Sheriff's Department believe the dogs kept him warm through the night.

Kyle was treated at a nearby hospital for minor scrapes and bruises.

His brother Chris Bailey was impressed with the rescue effort. "Thank you, thank you so much. I had people from work, as many people as I could get together," he told WBRC-TV. "Just thank you, it's amazing we could all come together like this."

[yogiman70]

Dogs are a man's best friends, especially boys. Thank God he gave them to us. He must have had a special reason like the night the boy came up missing.

[winslowe1]

The lad now has a GPS tracker attached, so he should be found sooner if he wanders off again.

[rwsmith29456]

It was a four dog night.

[micmac666]

A "four dog night". Good for him.

[SUZAMBA]

The love and warmth of those puppies as well a the mother dog was a Blessing. For once, a positive story with a happy ending. Hope all were cared for once they were found.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

Thank God for the mother dog and her puppies.!

It's really fantastic to hear some good news for a change.!!!

[Necroscope84]

Very nice. Glad everything turned out good. Give those puppies an extra treat :)

[mollydtt]

What a wonderful happy ending. I'd bet that those 150 volunteers as well as the family were thrilled and relieved.

[jschm2681]

nice article with a happy ending.

[DigoPogo]

I wish there had been more info on the pups and their Mom. Things like, to whom do they belong, how did all those dogs end up with the boy, etc.

[twmat311]

The article did state something about "his pet puppies" - very possible, as dogs can detect strongly who in the human family needs extra care and protection. Many cases exist where a pet dog somehow understood a family member was in danger or distress, and took unusual measures to try to provide or summon aid.

[yogiman70]

This article about the dogs is like the one I read recently where a baby stopped breathing at night and the family dog jumped into her parents bed and woke them up shaking bad.

They got up to see what was "going on" and found the baby wasn't breathing.

It must have been for a short time because she was brought out of it. She was checked at the hospital and they found her okay.