A routine search for a missing 3-year-old took an extraordinary turn when an unknown dog, nicknamed "Lassie," guided a Louisville police officer directly to the trapped child.



A Louisville police officer is crediting a dog he nicknamed “Lassie” – and God above – for helping rescue a 3-year-old boy.

The feel-good story began one day in early January, when officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department received an urgent call about a missing 3-year-old child. Police launched a full-scale search, using a helicopter and drones while officers walked the neighborhood on foot.

Officers knocked on doors and asked residents for tips – but the child was nowhere to be found.

That’s when the dog entered the story, running up to Officer Josh Thompson and barking excitedly as he was knocking on the door of a house.

“And at first you don't know about dogs. You don't know where the dog’s from – so I'm kind of being a little leery of the dog. He's barking, chirping at me a little bit, and then continues to follow me,” Thompson said in a video on the department’s social media page.

Thompson and the other officers weren’t sure where to look once they reached the backyard, but the dog did – leading them straight to a vehicle in the yard where the frightened 3-year-old was trapped inside. The child was locked in the SUV, and officers calmly gave him visual and verbal instructions to help him unlock the door. Once freed, the scared child leapt into the arms of Thompson.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier kid in my life,” he said.

He and others nicknamed the dog Lassie, a reference to the famous TV dog known for rescuing people in danger.

“That dog was sitting there saying, ‘Hey, over here, come over here, follow me.’ That dog was sent from somewhere else. I've never seen that dog before. I've not seen it since in the neighborhood,” Thompson said. “I patrolled the neighborhood for two years. And I don't know where the dog came from, but it was a blessing from God that day.”

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