Loyal pup stays by missing Florida toddler's side after he wandered away from home

(Courtesy: Suwannee County Sheriff's Office)

A little boy who wandered away from his north Florida home thankfully had the family's loyal pup stick by his side.

The Suwannee County Sheriff's Office said they received a frantic 911 call from a mother whose 3-year-old son wandered away while playing outside with his siblings Tuesday afternoon.

The mother told the dispatcher that their family dog, named Buddy, was also missing. She believed the pup was possibly with the toddler.

Deputies and K9 units responded to the home and began searching for the child.

A short while later, deputies said a neighbor called 911 to say he found a small child and dog in the woods, but the dog wouldn't let him get near the child.

"Fortunately, we were able to reunite the child with his mother, thanks in part to 'man's best friend' and an alert neighbor," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.