Dog Saves Lost Girl After 11 Days in Siberian Wild

Like a modern day

Lassie, this?heroic dog saves his little, lost companion from otherwise treacherous circumstances.A little 3-year-old girl, Karina Chikitova, was recently rescued from the Siberian wilderness after spending 11 days out in the taiga.Karina went missing after following her father as he left home on a job. Due to the remote area?s poor cell reception, neither of her parents were able to contact one another. Her mother was under the impression that Karina had gone off with her father on the job, while her dad assumed Karina was back at home. And while both of her parents were under the impression that their daughter was safe, Karina was lost and alone in the tall grass

of the cold Siberian taiga.Well, maybe not ALL alone?

A Hero Dog Saves a Lost Girl

Lucky for Karina, she was accompanied by her

puppy who kept her safe and warm in the Siberian wilderness?-- the area Karina was lost in is known for its high density of wolves

and bears. Surviving the ordeal by sustaining herself on river water and berries, it is a miracle that little Karina made it at all. If it wasn't?for Kryachaan, the chances that Karina would have ever returned home were?slim.It took four days for Karina?s mother to discover that something was awry, at which point she?launched a

full search for her missing daughter

. However, because of the topographical nature of the area, things like helicopters and drones were rendered useless. The tall grass made spotting Karina from the sky difficult enough. Add to that the fact that Karina had fashioned a bed out of the blades of grass, recovering?the well-camouflaged lost girl was literally like finding a needle in a haystack. In situations like this, the job often falls to the keen nose. In this case, a dog saves the day.

How Man's Best Friend Earns The?Title

Luckily, the dog realized that Karina?s family was never going to find her on their own, so he set off and caught up with them. The family was initially disheartened by the puppies arrival, having thought that it was by the dog?s presence alone that Karina stood a chance against the regions brutal climes. But when they realized that the dog was there to lead them back to their daughter, the Chikitova family leapt into action.When they finally came upon Karina, rescuers said that she looked to be in surprisingly good shape given her circumstances. She did, however, dip into a worrisome weight range, weighing just over ten kilograms (22.5 lbs). But that is to be assumed after living on nothing but water and berries for over ten days. She was also badly bitten by mosquitoes and other bugs

Now in intensive care, her mother and father are not letting the little girl out of their sight. Spokeswoman Nadezhda Dvoretskaya had this to say about the incident - ?Thanks to the dog who did his duty by his young owner when it really mattered to save her life.?

Sources:Siberian Times - Three Year Old Miracle Girl Found Alive After 11 Days in Siberian Taiga - Thanks to Her PuppySiberian Times - First Picture of the Hero Dog Which Saved Three Year Old Karina