WAVERLY TOWNSHIP, MI -- A nearly 2-year-old toddler and his parents have their dog to thank for leaving a trail of paw prints that led police to the missing boy's location after several terrifying hours.

It was the dog's tracks that allowed police to find Princeton Peake in Van Buren County Wednesday, nearly three hours after he had gone missing

Police dogs from Van Buren County were called to the 40000 block of M-43 in Waverly Township around 8 a.m. Princeton's house sits about a half-mile off the road surrounded by cornfields, woods and swamps.

It was the dog's prints that police officers tracked, as his paws and claws sank into the ground where Princeton's were mostly too light.

"That dog might have saved that child's life," Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said.

Police found Princeton in a wooded area about three-quarters to a mile from his house, Abbott said. His boxer/pit bull mix, Apollo, was by his side. He had scratches on his legs, bug bites covering his body and his diaper had come off in his trek.

"Without those dog tracks, without being able to track him for a half a mile in a muddy field, we wouldn't have had a good direction of travel of where that boy went," Abbott said.

With Princeton safe at home Thursday, his mother, Myhia Perez, replayed the horror that she experienced the day before, when she came home from her third-shift job and didn't find her son there.

Perez said it seemed Princeton woke up without his dad hearing him, which was unusual, and figured out how to unlock the front door. She said he sleeps in their bedroom and usually tackles his father in bed when he wakes up. Perez said.

"I ran out there and I was just yelling for Princeton," Perez said. "I noticed Apollo was gone, too."

Perez said she saw one of Princeton's favorite toys was near the barn on their property, a place he likes to explore, but both doors were shut. They looked behind the house but didn't see him. She saw one of his favorite cars in the driveway, which appeared to be stuck in the mud. She said she and her boyfriend called police after they hadn't found their son in five minutes. She feared they would find Princeton face down in one of the many puddles and swamps surrounding their home.

"It was terrifying," Perez said Thursday. "I about died."

Perez said she received a call that police had found Princeton, with Apollo about 20 feet from him, right before they were going to launch drones to locate him. Perez said she was relieved when police found them, but said the whole episode didn't feel like real life.

"I thought it was a dream," Perez said.

Perez said police brought Princeton and Apollo back. Princeton looked exhausted but was calm. They took him to Bronson LakeView Hospital in Paw Paw to get checked out, then brought him home.

"It was like nothing had ever happened," Perez said.

Perez said the family has had Apollo since he was eight weeks old, and he and Princeton are about the same age.

"Princeton's always tugging on his tail, messing with him," Perez said.

Perez said her theory is that Princeton started following Apollo, but then the dog started following her son. She said Princeton never wanders far, and said she and her boyfriend are usually with him.

"You scared mommy and daddy to death," she said to Princeton as he laid on the couch next to her, watching cartoons.

On Friday, Abbott had an animal control officer deliver several hundred pounds of dog food and dog treats to Princeton and Apollo's home. Four large bags of dog food was on the family's porch on Thursday. Abbott said it came from the animal shelter, which regularly receives donated food.

Abbott said an investigation will be forwarded to the prosecutor's office and to Child Protective Services, but said it seems like Wednesday's happening was an accident.

"We'll send it over for CPS and the prosecutor to review," Abbott said. "If they want to get involved at that point the ball's in their court."

As of Friday, the family had two new locks up high on their home's front door -- out of Princeton's reach.