Alan Vizniowski, also known as Van, is a 73-year-old man with dementia. His niece, Sherri Llewellyn, and her husband, Matt, reported to the authorities that Van had left the house. The last time the older man was with the family was Saturday evening. They discovered the older man was away from the house the following day.
Matt and Sherri took their children on a walk, leaving their grandpa home. When they went back home, they found out the house was open. Van was not there.
Van is helpless, and he has an illness that is the chief concern. Many people worried about him outside on a snowy night. Different negative thoughts ran on the minds of the people searching for him.
They started searching in the woods at the back of the house, making searching challenging. After searching the area, they immediately asked for help from the Hamilton Police. Friends, neighbors, and even strangers with good hearts volunteered to search for the older man.
Some people even offered their ATVs to widen the search. Matt is not new to such an incident because he worked as a reporter. A recovery mission is a familiar thing for him.
Neil Bannon, Van’s neighbor, also helped, and he had a gut feeling that the older man was in the woods. He once met Van and Max in the woods and felt the dog would not leave Van alone.
The weather was unfavorable, and the family braced themselves for the bad news. Neither the local police nor the countless people found the older man. The excellent thing is that Max, a Norwegian Elkhound, was the guardian angel who led the rescuers to find Van.
Bannon started calling Max, and the dog started barking. By then, he called Van, and the older man replied, shouting. They found the man suffering from hypothermia and unable to walk because he lost his one shoe.
Max proved his loyalty to Van. He did not leave his side no matter what.
Source: CBC News Canada
