Hero the dog lives up to his name and leads rescuers to owner who spent 2 days in a ditch

A61-year-old man in the southern Alberta town of Tabertrapped in a muddy ditch for two days could have been there a lot longer if it wasn't for his dog an Akitanamed Hero.

Police believe themangot stuck in mudwhile walkingin the area,alocation he frequents oftenwith his two dogs: Hero and Tora. He was unable to move, and the locationwas out of clear sight from the road.

Then, on Thursday morning, policereceived a call abouta large dog on the loose just north of the sugarrefineryin Taber a town about 270 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

When officers arrived, they couldn't locatethe dog,Const. Austin Weersink with the Taber Police Service told CBC News.

Dog attack leads to rescue

A few hours later, police receivedanother call regarding the samearea. This time, a man namedCurtis Dahltold policehe waswith his dog when they wereattacked by another large dog.

The dog who was responsible for the attack was Hero, Taber police said in a post to Facebook. When police arrived on scene again they saw Hero laying on a berm and whistled to get his attention.

Weersinksays that's whenhe heard a loud cry for help.

WATCH | Man rescued thanks to dog after 2 days stranded in mud:

A dog named Hero saves his owner's life

6 months ago

Duration 2:03

Living up to his name, an Akita breed dog in Taber, Alta., named Hero saved the life of his owner by protecting him from the elements, fighting off coyotes and eventually alerting people to his owner's whereabouts stuck in a muddy ditch, unable to move for two days in temperatures as cold as 17 C.

"I looked to my left where the individual who had been attacked was sitting in his vehicle, but his window was [rolled] up," he said. "SoI whistled again, and the shriek came again and said, 'Help, I'm down here.'"

Weersink called for Hero to be taken under control, then walked over to where he heard the scream coming from to find theman lying on his back.

"The tall grass ... it's extremely tough to see someone in there," said the police officer.

'He really truly lives up to his name'

Police say Hero's owner was able to tell them that his loyal companion stayed by his side and kept him warm as temperatures dropped, and may have even fought off coyotes.

The man was rescuedand taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital in the nearby city ofLethbridge, Alta.

His dogs, Hero and another Akita named Tora, were taken in by theTaber'sLostPaws Society while he recovered.

"[Hero]was obviously quite anxious, confused, but quite calmactually," said Alana McPhee with the Lost Paws Society.

"He was involved in fighting because he was really just protecting his owner I guess you could say he reallytruly lives up to his name."

Dog attack victim recovering

Dahl,the man whom Hero bit, told CBC Newshe went to the hospital for his injuriesand hisdog,Jack, was also treated.

Both are now recovering, but Dahl says he was understanding of the situation after hearing the full story.

The LostPaws Society has since launched a fundraising campaign for all of the pets involved that sustained injuries, as Tora also had a rod in a previously brokenleg that had some screws come loose from likely "frantically running between the place her owner was trapped and her residence."

McPhee says she can tell both dogs arelooking forward to being reunited with theirowner.