Anyone needing further proof that dog is man’s best friend – beyond that droopy look your own pooch gives you when you walk in the door at night – should find it here.

A 67-year-old man in the UK was rescued after he became stranded in a muddy bog while hiking around Thornham Parva in North Suffolk on January 18.

And throughout the entire seven hour ordeal, the man’s pet Labrador refused to leave his side – even as plunging temperatures and lack of food caused the man to lose consciousness.

“Fortunately I don’t remember much of it,” the man, Martin Kay, told the East Anglican Daily Times. “I remember it beginning to get dark – when I first fell the sun was [still] out.”

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Kay told police he went for a walk with his pet Labrador, Holly Blue, around 2:30 PM that day. Because the weather was nice, he decided to deviate from his usual walking path.

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That’s when he came across a muddy bog in the wilderness. Kay tried to traverse the bog on foot, but became hopelessly trapped.

“I tested the surface with my boot there were hard patches and go from one hard patch to another, but it obviously was not firm enough,” Kay said.

“I struggled for some time and I was getting weaker and weaker. I got my chest up but couldn’t get my legs up.” Tweet This

As the hours went by and the elderly man’s strength waned, his situation became more and more desperate.

“Time went by and it was beginning to get dark,” Kay said. “I called for help and drifted.”

Eventually, with the sun setting and temperatures dropping, Kay lost consciousness. He says he’s not even sure what time it was he passed out.

Kay wasn’t reported missing until 7:30 that night, when friends who stopped by to visit him noticed he wasn’t at home. Police began searching his usual walking routes both on foot and via helicopter.

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Then, at around 9:00 that night, a police helicopter located Kay – or rather, located Holly Blue, who hadn’t left Kay’s side even after he had been passed out for hours.

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“If it wasn’t for the thermal imaging of the helicopter we wouldn’t have found him,” Police Constable Luke Allard said. “I couldn’t see him when I saw Blue [Holly].” Tweet This

As the video above shows, a police helicopter managed to spot Holly Blue, which quickly led them to spot Kay as well. The dog even barked as rescuers approached on foot in order to lead them to his location.

Kay was taken to West Suffolk Hospital for treatment when he finally awoke – and learned his loyal dog was responsible for saving his life.

“It was the first and the last time she had been called into action,” Kay said. “She’s a very loyal dog.”