An elderly woman may have been kept alive by her dog sleeping on her chest after she and her husband got lost during a hike outside their home in Maine, writes The Daily Mail.

Pamela Helmstadter, 72, was rescued after spending four nights in the woods in Washington County, Maine, WMTW reports. Her dog, a black lab named Lucy, was by her side as game wardens located her that afternoon, according to the Portland Press Herald.

“When the K9 team located her, her dog was being very protective of her and even laid down on top of her chest”, Sgt. Josh Beal, of the Maine Warden Service. “It sounds like that’s what the dog would do at night, as well, to help keep her warm”.

Authorities say Helmstadter’s ordeal began when she and her husband, 82-year-old John Helmstadter, went to walk their two dogs in the network of trails behind their home in Alexander and got lost, according to WMTW.

That is when John fell and was unable to get up. Since neither John nor Pamela had their cellphones on them at the time, Pamela went to go get help on foot, but became disoriented and could not find her way home. “She was more physically capable than he was, and they made the decision for him to stay put and her to try and go find help”, Beal explained. They then spent several days out in rainy and cold weather, with temperatures reaching as low as 27-degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday night. “She did very well to survive for that long”, Beal said. Unfortunately, however, John did not survive the ordeal. It is unclear exactly when he passed away.