A family was desperate to find their 5-year-old son with special needs after he wandered from home while they slept. When police later found the child completely unharmed, they learned it was because of his “angel.”
Houston, Texas can be a dangerous city for any traveler who doesn’t know their way around and even more so for a child roaming alone. Of course, the risks exponentially increase if the child is mentally impaired. So when 5-year-old Jose Muñoz, a special needs child, wandered away from his home during naptime, police knew it was a race against time if they wanted to find the boy alive.
Shortly after his mother laid down with him for a nap, Jose quietly got out of bed, opened a door, and headed outside, Click 2 Houston reported. When his mother realized he was no longer in his bed or the house, she called 911 to report the missing child, informing them that she had no idea when he had left or which way he was headed and that the boy has Down syndrome.
Thankfully, a witness called in to report that they had seen a small boy walking along the train tracks near Cavalcade in north Houston. Officers were immediately dispatched and began a sweep of the area, hoping to reach the child before he encountered a dangerous situation. Within minutes, officers tracked down Jose, who was about a half-mile away from his home.
“I looked on the map and said, ‘This is a far way for the child to walk all the way over here,’” said HPD Sgt. Ricardo Salas.
When officers caught up to the child, they gave him water and inspected him to make sure he wasn’t injured. Incredibly, he was completely unharmed and extraordinarily calm. As it turns out, he had a guardian angel protecting him the entire time.
Standing watchfully at the boy’s side was Alejandro, the family’s 1-year-old German shepherd. As soon as the faithful dog saw his boy heading out the door, he headed out after him, following closely beside the child until the police arrived.
“The dog knew he had to go with him because he was doing something he was not supposed to do,” said Salas. “I sat the child in my patrol unit so he could get some AC, and I looked back and the dog jumped in the patrol car.”
Jose’s sister said she wasn’t surprised that Alejandro was found guarding her little brother. She explained that, even though they had only owned him for a year, the dog had formed an unusual bond with the boy.
“Alejandro has always been a very overprotective dog since we got him, we got him when he was a baby. I was not surprised when they said he was walking with him the whole entire time,” said Jose’s sister, Samantha Muñoz.
HPD Sgt. Ricardo Salas said that the boy is very lucky to have such a protective and loyal friend beside him because the tracks he was traveling down are usually pretty busy.
“Witnesses told me the dog was with the little boy when they found him,” Salas tweeted. “As I walked with the boy, the dog followed. This dog was his protector and his angel. The dog would not keep an eye off the little boy. It was the greatest thing to see this animal so loyal.”
Apparently, this isn’t typical behavior for Jose. After the unusual incident, however, his mother said she would be installing child protective locks on all the exterior doors in order to prevent anything similar from happening again.
Dogs seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to their human companions. They’ve earned the title “man’s best friend” with their unwavering loyalty and willingness to lay down their lives to protect their master.
Police said no charges would be filed against the mother. Everyone is just relieved that the boy was found unharmed. Many times, children who wander away from home aren’t so lucky. Of course, it helps when you have a furry guardian by your side.
