Pet dog hailed with saving 3-year-old's life after she goes missing

When three-year-old Remy Elliott went missing in cornfield near her house, her parents were frantic. 

She wandered off at about 8pm on Thursday night, causing a search party to be formed to find her. 

“I looked for her by myself thinking maybe she was just in the woods or somewhere where I just couldn't see her,” her mother Timber Merritt told local media. “And I was calling for her and calling for her, and when she wasn't calling back I realised I don't think I'm going to find her on my own."

The mother of three started calling family and friends, forming a search party. Up to 100 people turned out to help and two helicopters were even called in to search the area. Volunteers were especially worried as searching a cornfield is no easy task. 

"The corn feels like razor blades cutting you, especially for a child,” volunteer Makayla Hardcastle said. “And you don't hear well in the corn either, so when somebody is yelling your name you can hear them but you don't know where it is coming from.”

This is what #Community looks like. Law enforcement, 1st Responders and community volunteers coming together to find a missing child. Her dog stayed by her side all night. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/aIDMtG6JTW

— MSHP Troop E (@MSHPTrooperE) 15 June 2018

But they needn't have worried, because Remy had her best friend with her the whole time- her pet Yorkshire Terrier, Fat Heath. 

Eventually, her brother found her asleep on broken cornstalks, guarded by Fat Heath. 

"They said that she was asleep when he picked her up,” Merritt recalled. “She was definitely exhausted, hot, really sweaty and it took a while to drink anything. She said she wasn't scared because Fat Heath was there. If he wasn't I think she would’ve been terrified.”  

Apart from mosquito bites, the toddler was unharmed. Now her Merritt is investing in a fence to stop her wandering off again. 

"Hopefully put a fence around the yard, or keep her inside," she laughed.