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Deaf, Partially Blind Family Dog Saves 3-Year-Old Lost In Wildnerness

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QUEENSLAND, Australia (CBSMiami) -- A deaf and partially blind family dog is being praised in Australia for keeping a 3-year-old girl safe as she was lost in the cold wilderness for 15 hours.

Max The Dog
Max the dog (CBS4)

Aurora Kyle was reported missing Friday afternoon at around 3 after she wandered off from her Queensland home.

More than 100 volunteers and officers began searching for the little girl but after several hours and an exhaustive search, they suspended the search until sunrise.

Aurora's grandmother, however, was not about to stop.

"It was really hard last night, disheartening at 2 o'clock in the morning, when everyone left and we were standing here alone in the darkness knowing a 3-year-old was out here. So at dark I was back out here thinking I can't sleep until I get her," said Leisa Bennett.

Aurora's grandmother and her uncle began searching once again but this time they went in the opposite direction calling her name.

"I yelled out to her and I heard her voice. She recognized me as Granby I knew it was her. So I shot up the mountain," recalled Bennett.

Once she made it to the top of the mountain, Bennett says Max came out and led her straight to her precious granddaughter who was more than a mile from her home.

"The dog kept pulling her towards the lights and she said, 'I pulled him and we slept together. I had a good sleep Granby,'" Bennett said the girl told her.

Aurora suffered only minor cuts and bruises, but told her grandmother she wasn't scared, she was okay. She told her grandmother she slept well with Max by her side. Max, a 17-year-old blue heeler, kept Kyle warm overnight in temperatures, which dropped into the 50s.

As for Max, he has earned the much-deserved title of honorary police dog.

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