itJAKARTA - A four-year-old dog named Baekgu, was awarded the honorary title of Rescue Dog 119, the first in South Korea, after playing a key role in saving the life of a 93-year-old grandmother and a person with dementia who had disappeared.
According to the South Chungcheong Provincial Government and emergency officials, the dog was given the title on Monday 6 September for helping rescue workers find its owner, a 93-year-old dementia patient who fell unconscious in a field, 2 kilometers from his home on August 25.
According to the Korea Times on September 8, the woman's daughter, surnamed Shim, filed a missing persons report with the police after being unable to contact her mother for hours. The local police and the fire service also launched a search operation.
They checked the CCTV footage and saw Kim leaving the village at dawn. But despite a search effort with volunteers, they couldn't find him for almost two days.
Meanwhile, the little dog stayed by his owner's side, keeping him warm during the rain. Rescue workers were finally able to pinpoint its location after detecting the dog's body temperature using a drone with a thermal camera.
At around 3pm on August 26, 40 hours after he disappeared, a small heat signal was detected on the search drone's thermal camera. It was Baekgu's body temperature.
Rescue workers found the woman at the scene and rushed her to a nearby hospital. They said the drone couldn't detect him because his temperature had dropped and it was raining heavily. He is now recovering after being treated for hypothermia.
"Baekgu is an abandoned dog and became part of our family when we rescued him from another dog attack three years ago," said Shim.
"I'm really grateful, looks like he returned the favor for us," he continued.
Meanwhile, the Governor of South Chungcheong Province, South Korea Yang Seung-jo also thanked Baekgu for the extraordinary miracle.
"At a difficult time due to COVID-19, Baekgu created extraordinary miracles and moved everyone," said Governor Yang Seung-jo, according to CNN.
To note, last April, the National Fire Service enacted a regulation to allow animals to become honorary rescue ambassadors, as a reward for playing such a large role in saving people's lives.
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