factsonpitbulls:

DALLAS - A Texas family says their pet pit bull helped protect their missing 3-year-old after she wandered away and got lost in the woods. Little Zoey Smith is bubbly and chatty. It’s hard to tell she survived the six-hour ordeal alone with only her dog Brownie.

“I’m so glad that we found her and that she came back because that usually doesn’t happen. And, she’s my angel and I wouldn’t know what to do without her,” said Stephanie Smith, the girl’s mother.

The toddler was playing outside Thursday afternoon at her grandmother’s house in rural Van Zandt County. She told investigators she wandered away because she was following Brownie who was chasing a raccoon.

She describes going through water. “I got wet and I was cold,” Zoey said.

A team of volunteers and law enforcement agents kept up an intense search after the sun went down. Zoey was found just after 7 p.m. about a mile and a half away from where she was last seen.

Jason Smith and his son had jumped on their four-wheelers to help search their property. “I walked up to her and I said ‘Hey’ a little bit loud and she just kind of looked at me. And she said, ‘I’m cold. I’m cold.’ She just kept saying that. That’s what I think she was saying. And for a split second I saw a grin on her face,” he said.

“I was happy, happy,” Zoey said.

Jason Smith said Zoey’s dog was very protective of her and at first wouldn’t even let him get close. He points out it was clear Brownie never left her side.