It is only a year since two-year-old Peanut was herself saved by an animal shelter and found herself a new forever home. On Friday it was Peanut’s turn to do the rescuing, when she found the little girl, lying naked in a ditch close to her home in Escanaba, Michigan.

A rescue dog named Peanut

When Peanut was originally found, she had broken legs and ribs. While the two-year-old pup was in a bad state, she soon recovered well enough for a kind person to take her into their home as the family dog. Peanut, a medium sized mixed-breed dog, has now been living with the family for almost a year.

According to Peanut’s owner, she is normally pretty shy, so it was unusual when the dog started running up and down the stairs, barking loudly. When Peanut was finally let out of the gate, she immediately ran into the open field behind the home, with her concerned owner trailing behind.

Peanut eventually stopped her mad rush when she arrived at a ditch, turning around to look at her owner imploringly. The unnamed male owner said he pulled on the Rescue Dog’s collar, wanting to take her back home. However, the next moment he spotted a little girl, curled up naked in a ball in the ditch. The temperatures were reportedly freezing at the time, so the man jumped down and immediately wrapped the girl in his shirt, running with her back to the house.

While wrapping the little girl in blankets to keep her warm, the family then dialed 911.

Owner lets the animal shelter know that Peanut is a hero

After the incident, the owner wrote to the Delta Animal Shelter, where they adopted Peanut last year, to tell them about the incident and that the little girl had only one thing to say at the time of her rescue and that was the word “doggie.” He added that Peanut had saved the little girl’s life.

CBS News reports that the story was confirmed by the Delta County Sheriff’s office in a statement on Monday, which credited the rescue dog with finding the child and alerting her owner.

Little girl alive and well after being rescued by Peanut

After the girl was found, sheriff’s deputies reportedly started going from door to door in an attempt to find her family and finally tracked them down at a house nearby.

In the meantime, the little girl was found to be uninjured, but was taken to a nearby hospital for medical tests. However, according to the sheriff’s office, further investigation of the child’s home revealed it to be unsanitary and unsafe for a small child. The sheriff’s office said in their statement that Child Protective Services were called in and the little girl, along with another female child found on the premises, was removed from the home. The case has reportedly been handed over to the Delta County Prosecutor’s office.

Animal shelter applauds Peanut’s actions

As reported by the International Business Times and while the story was a sad one, Delta Animal Shelter said it was good news that both children are now in safe hands.

They went on to applaud the heroism of a formerly abused rescue dog, along with her adoptive family. The family had plenty to say about their adopted dog, Peanut, including the fact that she appears to have a “sixth sense.”
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