Rescue dog finds freezing woman

Collie dogs are among those used by Dorset Search Dogs

An elderly woman has cheated death - after lying injured in freezing cold overnight - thanks to two dogs.

Pauline Muggleton, 77, fell into the thick undergrowth on Ferndown Common in Dorset while walking her dog Goldie on Saturday afternoon.

Her husband, John, raised the alarm after she did not return after dark. She was found early Sunday morning.

Charlie, a Dorset search dog, found Goldie who was keeping Mrs Muggleton warm, and led the search team to them.

A couple of hours later and she would have been dead Sally Humberstone, daughter of Pauline Muggleton

"The helicopter couldn't find her because she was too cold to be detected by the heat seeking equipment," said her daughter, Sally Humberstone.

"It was the Dorset Search Dog that is the real hero.

"A couple of hours later and she would have been dead," she added.

She said paramedics struggled to find a pulse when they found her mother.

Mr Muggleton, a town councillor, said Goldie, a seven-year-old retriever-cross, was also a hero as he stayed by his wife's side for hours.

"He stayed by her side and helped keep her warm. She couldn't get up but she said she felt Goldie by her side," she added.

"To me and to my family he is also a real hero."

Matt Cooke, Charlie's owner from Dorset Search Dogs, said he was "over the moon" because it was Charlie's first find.