QuickTake:

Cami, the family dog, barked to alert nearby searchers and kept her owner warm through the night.

An 82-year-old resident of Elmira who went missing Monday, Dec. 29, was found late that night thanks to the help of her dog, Cami.

Cami, a blue heeler, also known as an Australian cattle dog, has been known for her loyalty to her owner. This time, the pup went above and beyond, keeping the woman warm as temperatures dipped below freezing, according to a release from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. The dog also “signaled to nearby Lane County Search and Rescue volunteers coming through the area,” the release said.

Katie Sciotto, a search and rescue volunteer, was the first to find the woman and Cami, off Warthen Road outside of Elmira.

Sciotto had been told that Cami and the patient would not respond to calls for their names during the search. The woman suffers from dementia, and Cami was known as a quiet dog that rarely barks.

After hours of searching in the dark through private roads, trails and dead ends, Sciotto decided to call Cami’s name anyway.

“I yelled ‘Cami,’ and very faintly, about 300 yards away, I heard a dog bark,” Sciotto said. “My two searchers and I basically just took off straight towards that bark. We were tripping and falling along the way.”

After a few more calls for Cami and sharp barks of response, the volunteers eventually found the pair, with Cami lying on top of the woman keeping her warm. 

“Without Cami, we likely would not have found her, and so the dog really did save her life,” Sciotto said. “The temperature was near freezing, and I don’t know if she would have made it overnight.”

Cami was elated to see the rescuers come to their aid, and she wagged her tail and licked their fingers while they tended to the patient. That is, until more backup volunteers with loud radios and bright headlamps showed up, which made the pup anxious. 

​Cami had a hard time leaving the woman’s side, but as a reward for her heroism, Cami was fed slices of cheese by the rescuers — taken from a pack of the rescuers’ emergency provisions.

The woman was treated for hypothermia before ambulances took her for further care at a hospital, according to a release from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.