The mother of a young boy has a Prince George RCMP service dog to thank for recently tracking the five-year-old down to possibly the last place anyone expected to find him - sleeping soundly under the drawers of a dresser in the family home.
No less than three RCMP members conducted their own search and even moved the dresser to look behind it, but without success, after responding to a call from the boy's mother, who had also searched the home prior to calling police.
When Astro was called in, a search of the property's perimeter followed. And when that didn't work out, Astro's handler asked to search inside the home.
"When Astro entered the boy's room, he immediately started giving indications to his handler that someone was in the room," Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass said. "Astro then focused on a six-drawer dresser and stuck his head inside one of the drawers.
"Still not seeing any part of the boy, the officer began to remove the drawers in the dresser. It seems the boy had climbed into the dresser and fallen asleep under the drawers."
At the time he was found, RCMP were in the process of calling in more help.
"Our police service dogs are a crucial part of the service we provide to our community," Douglass said. "Their unique abilities cannot be duplicated and their results are often amazing. Astro is very good at playing hide and seek."
