Last Friday, 76 year old Herbert Schutz was out driving in his four-wheel-drive vehicle when he crashed into a tree on his property near Rylstone, in central New South Wales. Trapped and seriously injured beneath the wreckage of his car, he thought he was facing certain death.

He had managed to climb out but as he did the car rolled over, pinning him under the chassis. When it did he suffered a fractured skull, two broken hips and a dislocated shoulder. He lay trapped under his car for four days.

Herbert knew the chances of being found quickly on his remote farm at the foot of an Australian mountain range were slim. He was in agony and without protection from the elements. The only thing in his favor was that he had his faithful kelpie dog, Boydy with him. Boydy knew just what to do – he snuggled next to his owner to keep him warm as temperatures fell to 4C (39F).

On the following Monday, his neighbors set out to look for him after his worried daughter called on Monday to tell them she had not been able to contact her father. Two of his neighbors discovered the upturned vehicle at the foot of the Nullo mountains that afternoon.

According to one of them, Mr. Merritt, "We saw the car and that no one was in it. Then his dog ran around the front of the car and then we heard him call for the dog. That’s when we found him." But even then Boydy refused to leave his master’s side.


Mr. Merritt said that Herbert Schutz had Boydy’s hair all over him, a sign that the dog had provided some body warmth to help his owner survive the low night-time temperatures. "Even when we found him, the dog ran straight to his side and cuddled up to him. He didn’t want to leave him even then," Mr. Merritt said.


Herbert Schutz was taken to John Hunter Hospital in the town of Newcastle, 100 miles north of Sydney, where he is recovering from his ordeal. Doctors have described his condition as still being ‘serious’, but he is conscious and lucid, which is amazing given what he has been through without any food or water for four days.


His daughter issued a statement that she is extremely thankful to his neighbors for locating her father and staying with him until the emergency and rescue services arrived. She also paid tribute to the emergency services and the fantastic staff at John Hunter Hospital. Herbert Schutz is also very thankful to all who helped him, but most of all to his faithful dog, Boydy, who never left his side when he needed him the most.