'She's really lucky': Dog saves owner with dementia after days lost in central Utah heat

EMERY COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) -- A dog is being credited with saving its owner, an elderly woman with dementia after she wandered from a cabin in Utah’s central mountains and became lost for nearly three days amid scorching summer heat.

“She’s really lucky that she had her dog with her,” said James Thomas, the conservation officer who found the woman.

The incident happened last month near Joe's Valley in western Emery County. On June 24, the woman went out for an evening walk with her dog near her family’s cabin and didn’t return. Her relatives spent the night searching for her, but when they couldn’t find her, they sought help in the morning. The woman was last seen wearing a T-shirt and slippers.

Search and rescue crews looked for the woman amid triple-digital daytime heat, but didn’t find her. That’s when Thomas and his K-9, Kip, were tapped to help. They searched in the evening and nighttime when mountain temperatures plunged into the 50s. The cool weather allowed Kip to work longer.

“If we’re running in 100-degree weather, he’s only going to work for about 15 mi...