Losing a child is a fear most parents carry with them. This fear was something that 4 year old Karina Chikitova’s parents had to deal with as they nearly lost her. It was believed that she lost her way after following her father as he was leaving their home in Olom, in the Olyokminsky district in the Sakha Republic. The search for Karina nearly went on for eleven days and reached a point where rescuers believed that she might not ever be found. It is said that the probability of locating a missing person vastly decreases after the first two days, with the likelihood of that person being dead increasing.
It was at this point that the rescuers noticed her pet dog. Karina’s mother was of the opinion that both the girl and the dog had followed her father as he had left, but the lack of phones in the area meant that there was no way to corroborate that piece of information. Almost 100 people joined in the search for the missing girl. These included members of the Sakha Republic Rescue Service, members of the special forces as well as hunters from the area. No effort was spared in trying to locate the missing Karina, even drones and helicopters were employed to aid in the rescue mission. The dense growth of foliage from the forest did nothing to better the situation.
As it turns out, the real reason why the girl was not found was Karina herself. She hid in the grass as the helicopters flew by, staying well out of sight of any of the rescue efforts. Karina however, was not alone in her little adventure. Her pet dog was with her, offering warmth and protection from wild beasts. Karina is said to have survived by drinking water from a local river and eating berries she gathered herself. It was at this point that her dog left her to go and find help.
At first both her family and the rescuers assumed the worst – at least the girl would be warm and safe with her faithful dog beside her. The location experiences extreme temperatures, with it going down to – 35 degrees at night. One of the coldest temperatures in the whole Northern Hemisphere is said to be found here. But the dog did not return to impart the worst kind of news, and insisted on being followed back to the girl. Afanasiy Nikolayev, speaking for the Sakha Republic Rescue Service, said that the puppy had come home two days before they found the girl. According to the NTV news, it was the puppy that helped the search party find the girl.
Surprisingly, when the girl was located by the search party, she appeared to be in good condition. She was quickly rushed to the waiting doctors. According to Nikolayev, she weighed what appeared to be ten kilograms as he took her to the waiting doctors. The name of the dog stayed away from the headlines of this story, but he is the true hero, having been the reason the girl’s life was saved.
