By Olivia Lloyd
The Charlotte Observer
MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. — A well-trained dog was able to reunite a family on Christmas after a child went missing in Virginia, deputies said.
Maxa the police dog found the juvenile in the woods, the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 25 news release.
Deputies responded to a home in Madison Heights in the early hours of Dec. 25, deputies said. Family members said they had searched the surrounding area for the missing juvenile but couldn’t find the child.
Maxa tracked the scent to a wooded area nearby, where the team found the child unharmed.
The K-9 team consisted of Maxa, a roughly 2-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer from Greece and her handler Sgt. Shores, deputies said.
“Awesome job Maxa,” one person wrote on Facebook, adding that heroes “come in all forms.”
Maxa is a recent addition to the force after she and Shores completed training at a Pennsylvania facility in October, the sheriff’s office announced. The two are certified in narcotics detection, article searches, and tracking.
“Good job, Maxa!” the department wrote after her successful work.
Madison Heights is about 110 miles west of Richmond.
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