Another Dog Saves Another Baby

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the story.  I saw it earlier today reported at Yahoo news but tonight I wasn't able to find it there.  I did find a shortened version of the story elsewhere, so here is the shortened version.  I add from the story I remember reading this morning:  The farmer was worried about his dog when he didn't come home at the regular time.  He got together a search party and they searched for the dog for hours and finally found it underneath a bridge - and as you'll see in the story, snuggling up to a newborn male infant wrapped in blankets!  That the farmer was worried about his dog signals to me either that the dog was a very valuable member of the farmer's "family" (in terms of being a good herder, for instance), and/or the dog was well loved. [Added at 9:25 p.m.:  I found the Yahoo linked story here]. 

From Life With Dogs: June 6, 2012

A loyal canine has earned hero status after he was found cradling an abandoned baby that he had spent the night protecting. According to authorities, a two week old child was discovered under a bridge in Winkongo, near Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Capital of Ghana, after being forsaken by its mother.

Left alone in a hostile environment, the baby did not have to fend for itself – it was saved by a local farm dog.

Officials say the two were found together many hours after the dog went missing. A search party spent the night combing area fields and forests in pursuit of the wandering canine, but it was not until morning that they made a stunning discovery when they found him under the bridge, near the farm, with a human baby nuzzled against him.

The remarkable tale was reported by Madam Rosemary Azure, Talensi-Nabdam District Director of Health, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

According to Madam Azure, the chief of police said the vulnerable youngster had been abandoned by its mother for reasons unknown before being saved by the dog. His umbilical cord was still uncut and had been infected, but the young child was otherwise unscathed after spending the night with the protective canine.

A local health directorate has taken custody of the child until a new home can be found for him.



This is not the first dog to save a human infant.  There are other stories in the not too distant past about a similar thing happening.  I found these reports, for instance, in a search at BBC News:

Page last updated at 06:36 GMT, Saturday, 23 August 2008 07:36 UK

Argentine dog saves abandoned baby

By Daniel Schweimler BBC News, Buenos Aires                    An eight-year-old dog has touched the hearts of Argentines by saving the life of an abandoned baby, placing him safely alongside her own new puppies. The country's media are calling him "the miracle baby". Last Updated: Thursday, 12 May, 2005, 15:10 GMT 16:10 UK Kenya's 'Angel mother' arrested The alleged mother of the Kenyan baby reportedly saved by a dog from a forest has been arrested, police say. The woman was arrested in an upmarket estate near where the two-week-old girl, nicknamed Angel, was found. ... Angel was found among a litter of puppies and her case has touched the hearts of many Kenyans, with offers of help - and adoption - pouring in. 'Saviour' ...  The dog has been named "Mkombozi", a Kiswahili word for saviour, after locals reported seeing the dog walking out of a forest, carrying the baby in a bag. ...