On March 10, 2014, León, a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever, trained for search and rescue mission since he was just months old,
located Bautista Gago, a 2-year-old boy from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who had been lost for 15 hours.
After just an hour tracking young Gago’s scent, León, successfully located the boy.
Gago was sound asleep in a wooded area in Tandil, Buenos Aires. The boy spent the night alone,
was exposed to the elements, and suffered many insect bites, however, he was found
in good health and with no life-threatening injuries.
According to Clarin.com, the 2-year-old boy was still asleep when the hero canine found him.
“We were lucky that León didn’t take long locating the child,” said Clarín Páez, the pet’s handler.
“It only took him 1 hour. León works unleashed, but I know his every move,
so when I saw him lifting his head and going in circles I knew he had found something.”
Páez did not see the child until he was very close to him. The dense and tall bushes covered Gago
but once he moved closer to the area, he was able to pin-point exactly where the child was resting.
“What was so moving was that once León barked, the child woke up and wanted to hug him.
It was very emotional,” said Páez.
The search and rescue dog has been part of Buenos Aires’s
search and rescue team for the past 2 years.
This is his second and successful search and rescue mission.
Long live the León!
