By The Associated Press

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. (AP) A Washington state animal shelter says a dog dutifully stood guard for a nearly a week on Vashon Island to protect another dog that had fallen in a cistern.

Tillie, a setter mix, only left Phoebe’s side to try to alert people of her trapped friend.

Amy Carey of Vashon Island Pet Protectors says the two were found Tuesday after they were reported missing by their owners last week. Vashon Island Pet Protectors says volunteers looking for the pair received a call about a reddish dog being seen on someone’s property a few times before promptly heading back into the ravine.

Carey says the Pet Protectors followed the tip and found Tillie lying beside an old cistern. Inside rescuers found Phoebe, a basset hound, on a pile of stones above the water.

The dogs were cold and hungry but otherwise unharmed. “It’s really quite remarkable,” Carey said

COMMENTARY

This story went viral a year ago. It shows how one dog can loyal to the other when it is trouble, such as being trapped in a cistern. The two legged inhabitants of the world should take a lesson from the Setter who came to the aid of the Basset Hound. “We are our brother’s keeper even applies in the canine community!”