HOUSTON – A 5-year-old boy who wandered away from his home was found safe with the family dog.
The bond between the 5-year-old Jose Muñoz and his 1-year-old German Shepherd is one that can’t be broken.
According to Houston police, Jose, who has down syndrome, was found about a half-mile from his home on Saturday morning.
“I looked on the map and said, ‘This is a far way for the child to walk all the way over here,’” said HPD Sgt. Ricardo Salas.
Salas said witnesses found the boy and the dog walking on the train tracks near Cavalcade in north Houston.
“The dog knew he had to go with him because he was doing something he was not supposed to do,” said Salas.
Jose’s mother, Jasmine Martinez, told KPRC 2 that she and Jose had just settled down for a nap. When she woke up, he was gone.
She believes he must have opened a door and wandered away.
About 25 to 30 minutes later, HPD received a call about a missing child.
When officers found the boy and gave him water, the dog would not leave the little boy by himself, said Salas.
“I sat the child in my patrol unit so he could get some AC, and I looked back and the dog jumped in the patrol car,” said Salas.
“Alejandro has always been a very overprotective dog since we got him, we got him when he was a baby. I was not surprised when they said he was walking with him the whole entire time,” said Jose’s sister, Samantha Muñoz.
Jose’s mother said she’s so grateful Alejandro protected her son.
“Thank God this story ended very positive, we’re very thankful for that,” said Salas.
The little boy was not hurt when they found him near the train tracks, only a couple of scrapes.
Jose’s mother is now working to install child protective locks on their doors.
Police say no charges will be filed.