WEST MILFORD, N.J. (AP) — A loyal but frightened Labrador retriever stayed close to his owner after he died while hiking in a nature preserve, helping a search team find the body in the dark, authorities said Tuesday.
The search team spotted the dog, named Kentucky, late Saturday when its eyes reflected off their headlamps, police Lt. John Matarese told The Associated Press.
Nearby, the team found the body of 51-year-old Bjoern Waalberg, who had apparently died hours earlier.
There was no indication of foul play, police said.
Waalberg, from the borough of Kinnelon, and his dog set out for a hike mid-afternoon Saturday at the 576-acre Apshawa Preserve in northern New Jersey. The man's wife alerted authorities just after 7 p.m. when he didn't return by nightfall as expected.
His body was found just before 10 p.m., his dog close by.
After police found the man's car in the parking lot, authorities said rescue teams were sent out to search the heavily wooded, hilly preserve, calling out the names of Waalberg and his dog.
West Milford Search and Rescue director Dina D'Argenio told The Record newspaper that Waalberg's wife also helped aid the search through the tracking of calls he made on his cellphone.
Kinnelon Councilman James Freda told the newspaper that Waalberg, a married father of three, was an avid outdoorsman.
A sad story, but that is one good dog.
7 comments:
Awesome Dog! I had to climb my back fence once to break into my house.(left the keys on the bar) I have a Lab/Retriever named Jake. He was nowhere to be found. I called and called him thinking he must have dug out, I broke into my house let the Family in then went to look for Jake. I walked around the yard looking for a hole around the fence. I had one tree in the back yard...he was hiding behind it! He might not be a good guard dog but at least I know he loves his family not to leave.
Oh that is a sad story.
What a sad story, but it's the testimony of the loyalty of the dog.
Yes, that is one good dog. I don't know how much feedback you get but mark me in the column of readers who really enjoy your "Everyday Hero" feature.
Hey, I read your post yesterday, too, but I couldn't comment as I read it while I was at the pool with the boys and before I could comment they wanted me to swim with them, so I did, so...
...first, this is a sad story, that the guy died, but at least the wife was spared the agony of wondering what happened to him.
Anyway: on your other post, about people not reading stuff. Someone else mentioned it in the comments, and since I keep encouraging you to write, I should respond, too, and here's my response in more detail:
JK Rowling had to resort to TELLING PEOPLE she wrote a book to sell it. She published that "well-received" thriller under a pseudonym and sold 1,500 copies. 1,500! I bet you've sold that many. Which just goes to show that it's NOT just merit that sells books, it's MARKETING. As soon as I saw that story came out that it had slipped out or whatever that she was the writer I thought "BS! She's (#$*%&$ mad that she only sold 1,500 copies and so she's leaking it that she wrote it so that people will go buy it."
Because it's easier to sell to
OH MAN. I started this comment at about 10 a.m. and it's now 4:43 p.m., so I forgot what I was going to say. I have had phone calls/meetings nonstop since then and my mind is just blown. So assume I was going to say something smart.
Great post. Just one reason Dogs are man's best friends.
"Jurassic Bark" in real life!
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