'Hero' dog saves girl, 3, from icy death by cuddling up to her throughout the night after she went missing in a Polish forest

Julia walked out of her grandmother's home, in Pierzwin, Poland, on Friday

Grandmother says local stray Czarue and Julia are 'best friends'

As darkness fell the friends got lost as they wandered deeper into forest

Huge search operation launched including more than 200 rescuers

Julia found, wet and with frostbite, cuddling Czarue, crying for her mother



A stray dog has been hailed a hero after it saved the life of a three-year-old girl who had gone missing on freezing marshland - by cuddling up to her throughout the night.



Little Julia wandered out of her grandmother's home, in Pierzwin, Poland, with a local mongrel called Czarue as the sun set on Friday.

But as darkness fell the friends got lost as they wandered deeper into a nearby forest .

Scroll down for video



Hero hound: Czarue the mongrel has been hailed a hero after using his own body heat to keep three-year-old Julia alive in a dark forest

When her grandmother Danuta realised the little girl was missing she raised the alarm, triggering a major search operation as temperatures dropped to -5C.

It was not until the next morning that the rescue team stumbled across Julia, wet from lying on moist ground, clinging on to Czarue and crying for her mother - four miles from her home.

Fireman Grzegorz Szymonowski said: 'This dog is the most important part of this story, he is a hero. It is thanks to this dog that the girl survived the night.

Born free: Czarue runs through the village of Pierzwin, in Poland, where he lives

Creature comfort: Little Julia wandered out of her grandmother's home, in Pierzwin, Poland, with Czarue as the sun set on Friday

Search: Julia's disappearance sparked a massive search operation with more than 200 rescue crews scouring the countryside throughout the night

'We ran around 500 metres, and there was silence. We stood to listen further and we heard the dog and later the crying of a child. We went in the direction and saw the child lying in the shrubs, she was wet because there was water in the forest.'



Her grandmother Danuta Balak said the dog had become the girls best friend, adding: 'She was with this dog all the time. She didn't go anywhere without it.



'When she was with me, when I was looking after her, she constantly said, "Granny, the dog needs to come in the house". And she told me to cut bread and she fed it all the time.'

Frostbite: Ambulance medics treat Julia for frostbite after she was found crying for her mother the next morning

Combing the forest: When her grandmother Danuta realised the little girl was missing she raised the alarm, triggering a major search operation as temperatures dropped to -5C

Julia is now is being treated for light symptoms of frostbite.

Head of the paediatric ward in Zielona Gora hospital Kazimiera Barczyk said the girl is being treated for light symptoms of frostbite.



'The only unusual symptoms are swollen hands and feet, probably from the frost. A surgeon inspected this and prescribed ointments. The next few days will show if there is some deeper frostbite, or just surface changes,' Barczyk said.



Home sweet home: Julia went missing from her home (pictured) on Friday evening

'This dog, which was with her most probably kept her warm. It lay down next to her when she fell asleep. She was walking and walking, and fell asleep when she got tired. The child was brought just before eight o'clock, at the beginning she was scared of people, and she was in shock. At the moment her mother is going through a lot of stress,' she added.

Police and fire-fighters said that damp soil and marshes in the surrounding forests made the search especially difficult for the use of search dogs and a police helicopter found no trace of the girl on the ground.



