Mary Bourg and her family live on a six-acre plot in Folsom, Louisiana.

Back in November, her two daughters, Abigail and Cecilia, were playing outside with their dog Artemis as they usually do, but this time they wandered off a little too far.

"I just start like running around the whole property — six acres — and that's when I called [my husband] and said, 'They're gone,'" Mary Bourg said.

The girls' parents were frantic.

The girls, aged seven and four, had wandered more than a mile away from the property, but luckily Artemis stayed by their side.

When the girls eventually got tired, they took a break. Artemis allowed Abigail to lay on him.

In the meantime, a search team was deployed. Police and neighbors searched for the girls for four hours before they heard barking.

The search team followed the sound of barking, and as they got close, Artemis went into full "I-must-protect-my-hoomans" mode.

Mary, the mother, said Artemis "wasn't letting them by the girls."

He was circling them, growling at the people to protect them.

It wasn't until after the team got to the girls and brought them home safely that they learned the truth.

Plot twist.

It was Artemis who got the girls lost in the woods in the first place!

According to Abigail (the 7-year-old):

He kept running ahead of us. We were trying to follow him, but we couldn't keep up.

Fortunately, the girls got home safely, and the family forgave Artemis.

The father, Justin Bourg, said:

He's got a free pass for a while. I won't be fussing at him for chewing up blankets and shoes.