Dog hailed hero for staying with missing toddler lost in forest for 2 days

Penny the pit bull is being hailed a hero after she kept missing two-year-old Charlee Campbell safe until they returned home. Photo / Facebook

The family of a two-year-old girl are hailing their dog a hero after she stayed by the missing toddler's side for two days until she was found safe.

Charlee Campbell went missing around 10am on Thursday from her grandmother's home in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky.

Search crews had spent two days searching for the toddler who had wandered into the woods, the MailOnline reported.

But she wasn't alone. Her loyal canine pal, Penny the pit bull, stayed by her side until they both safely returned home on Saturday.

"This is our hero right here," Beth Campbell, Charlee's grandmother, told WIS-TV.

Penny the pit bull is being hailed a hero after she kept missing two-year-old Charlee Campbell safe until they returned home. Photo / Facebook

Campbell said she believes that Penny stayed by her granddaughter's side the entire time she was missing.

"When my dog didn't come home, and my baby wasn't home, she was not going to leave that baby until she got here," Campbell said about Penny.

According to the Bullitt County Sheriff's Office, Penny arrived home just moments before Charlee was found by neighbors.

"Charlee's amazing survival story continued tonight when she walked up on a porch on Roy Layne Road this evening," police said on Facebook.

"The homeowners realised who she was and contacted authorities. Ironically, her dog returned home on its own a few minutes prior to Charlee approaching the homeowners," the statement said.

But she wasn't alone. Her loyal canine pal, Penny the pit bull (pictured), stayed by her side until they both safely returned home on Saturday. Photo / Wave 3 News

Police said Charlee had no obvious serious injuries, but she did appear dehydrated and had some tick bites.

She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation on Saturday.

'We cannot thank enough the firefighters, EMT's, dispatchers, search teams, other public safety agencies and the volunteer searchers from the community,' authorities said on Facebook.

Despite Charlee returning home safe with her beloved dog Penny, police are still conducting an investigation into her disappearance.