SYDNEY, Australia — In a case of life imitating fiction, a dog named Lassie apparently helped rescue its injured owner after he fell from a horse.

George Crowther, a 90-year-old farmer from Queensland state, broke his hip and pelvis when he was pitched from a bucking horse and his foot became caught in the reins, his son Austin said.

Crowther's dog, Lassie, came to the rescue, snuggling in next to him to keep him warm.

When darkness fell, Crowther's wife came searching in the fields with a flashlight, but couldn't hear the man's cries. She called for the dog and Lassie approached, whimpering.

"She said, 'Where's George?'" The dog then led her to the paddock where Crowther was.

Crowther was recovering Tuesday after having 37 screws and two metal plates inserted into his pelvis and hip.