DIXFIELD – A toddler was found safely about an hour after he wandered from his mother’s home on Canton Point Road Wednesday morning.
Police Chief Richard Pickett said the nearly three-year-old boy apparently was able to open the door to the home when his mother stepped into another room for a few minutes.
Just the moment before, Pickett said the toddler and his one-year-old female boxer has been playing inside the house.
When the mother returned, both her son and the dog were gone.
She and a neighbor searched for about five minutes before calling 911, said Pickett. In the meantime, other neighbors began a search while Pickett contacted the Maine Warden Service, the Dixfield Fire Company and began making arrangements for a canine search.
But within an hour, Pickett, who had been searching with a family relative, found the boy and the dog about 50 yards from the back of the house along a trail. He said the dog was very protective of the boy, who by now was very confused and crying.
“His first words were, ‘I want my Mommy,'” said Pickett.
Pickett said he talked with the boy after safely returning him to his mother, warning him not to go outside without an adult and to never leave the yard.
“It only takes a moment (for a child to wander off) when you turn your back,” he said.
The child was unhurt.
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