Pet saves 3-year-old owner

Karina Chikitova has been rescued by her family after her pet dog protected her and then led people to her location. She had been missing for 11 days in the Siberian forest.

The forest was inhabited by wolves and the young girl survived on eating wild berries and drinking water from a river. Her puppy had huddled with her to keep her warm before leading her parents and others back to her.

She was found hiding in the grass and, although uninjured, had lost a lot of weight and barely weighed anything.  Karina had followed her father on his trip to a village far away without him knowing that she was attempting to keep up and at the same time her mother thought she was with her father.

They realised she was missing after four days and searches began without any success. The puppy then returned home and two days later aided rescuers, guiding them to where Karina was hiding.

Karina is now in hospital in Yakutsk to speed her recovery. She proved very strong in the wilderness; not being harmed other than some mosquito bites and scratches on her foot.