Brian Saxton THE NEWS-TIMES
NEW MILFORD - He's Pal by name and a pal by nature.
The 2½-year-old New Milford golden retriever likes swimming and catching baseballs. He often plays with Nevis, a small, black Maine coon cat who shares his home, and he's never far from his master's side.
Even when his owner, Brad Tranfield, is working, Pal pads softly behind the glass counters at Tranfield's jewelry store, Robertson's Jewelers, on Main Street.
On Tuesday, Pal was reunited with his newest friend, a 4-year-old local boy he helped rescue last weekend on a remote hiking trail in Washington, Conn.
The boy, Brendan Omana, had been walking with his father, Julio, and sister, Abby, 2, in Hidden Valley on Sunday morning when he wandered off, intending to return to the family car ahead of the others.
He never made it. He took a wrong turn in the maze of interconnecting trails and lost his way.
"It wasn't until I got back to the car in the parking lot and found my son wasn't there that I realized he was missing," said Julio Omana.
As state police, local firefighters and other volunteers mounted a search operation in the 650-acre densely wooded area, the boy was found when Pal, Tranfield and family friend Bob Bennett coincidentally chose to follow a little-traveled trail that amazingly led them straight to Brendan.
"Pal was just ahead of me when he came across the boy," Tranfield said. "The boy was standing all alone with his hands folded, just waiting there. The boy never panicked, even when Pal went up to him and gave him a big kiss." Less than half an hour later, the boy was reunited with his father and sister, who were waiting with rescuers in the car.
"I just started crying," said Julio Omana. "I was so relieved. I'd gone back myself to try to retrace our steps and see if I could help but found nothing."
On Tuesday, after giving Pal another thank-you hug outside Tranfield's store, Brendan said he lost his way because he was anxious to get home.
"I was trying to get back to the car by myself because I was in a hurry to see Mommy," Brendan said. "I took the wrong turn. I went up a very steep hill and they couldn't see me."
Sunday's drama began around 10:30 a.m. when Julio Omana, 36, a teacher at Canterbury School, decided to take his children back to the parking lot after spending less than half an hour walking at Hidden Valley.
Hidden Valley is a tract of land northeast of Washington Depot with hiking trails, woods, small meadows and hillsides. The area is part of the larger Steep cq Rock Association, one of the largest land trusts in Connecticut.
"We'd been there before but this time we tried a new route," said Omana. "After about 20 minutes I decided to turn back."
Tranfield, a regular visitor to the area, attested to the complexity of the valley. "There's a whole bunch of trails in there," said Tranfield. "It's easy to get a little lost even if you know where you're going."
Tranfield said while they were walking with Pal that morning, they met Julio Omana, who had his daughter on his shoulders. He told them he had lost track of his son and was trying to find him.
"We asked for the boy's name and where they'd been heading," said Tranfield. "After the father left, we continued our walk. We were going uphill at the time and then found another little trail. We like to leave the more regular beaten paths so we took one that appeared less traveled than the others. It was a beautiful day and Pal was enjoying all the wonderful smells he always likes."
It was on that same trail that Pal found the missing boy.
"After we introduced the dog and the boy to each other, we told him we'd seen his father and that we'd take him back," Tranfield said. "The boy was very chatty on the way down. I think he realized he'd been lost and had been waiting for someone to rescue him."
Brendan said he'd felt "a little shy" when Pal and the others approached him.
"I'd never met them before but I was glad to see them," Brendan said. "I think the dog could smell me. Hounds smell very well."
While they were returning to lower ground, Tranfield said they met a young woman on the trail and told her to run ahead with the news that they'd found the boy. "As we neared lower ground, we could hear the echoes of people calling out the boy's name," said Tranfield. "At one point an ATV with six firefighters in it came up the hill. At the bottom, we found a throng of people, including search volunteers, state police and four or five ATVs. I almost expected to see helicopters."
Julio Omana said his wife, Amy, had taken the news "pretty well."
"In fact, it was Brendan who first told her," said Omana. "His first words were that someone in an ambulance had given him a stuffed animal."
As for Pal, there was still time after all the excitement had died down for him to take his regular Sunday swim in the nearby Shepaug River.
"There's no doubt about it," said Julio Omana. "Pal was the hero here."
Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2005