Great Dog Story..............by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs

We all know how wonderful dogs and cats, as well as other pets, can be to us personally in our day to day lives because we see their special qualities. But there are many things we never see and which can inspire us even more when we read or hear about these things.

This happened to me recently. I was doing some research for something else in an online current events encyclopedia and came across this interesting little report in a 1/22/87 issue of "Awake!" magazine in the section "Watching the World" (yes, 1987, and there was no link available to get to the original story). This is a direct copy of the little news item in that current events report:

Baby’s Best Friend
A newborn infant abandoned in a “weed-choked, bottle-strewn alley in 60-degree weather” was kept alive by a stray German shepherd, reports the Detroit Free Press. According to one of the police officers who discovered the infant, the animal had “curled [itself] around a baby that was holding onto a little twig. And the baby was being licked by the dog.” This bizarre discovery came about three hours after the officers had learned that a woman suffering from severe bleeding due to childbirth was admitted to a hospital. When no baby was found and the woman claimed she had never been pregnant, the police went to her apartment and followed a trail of blood to the alley where the child had been abandoned. The six-pound, four-ounce baby boy is listed in stable condition after suffering from hypothermia. (end of article)

(Graphic from classroomclipart.com)

Isn't this an amazing thing to think about? An abandoned baby and a stray dog, both without homes or families to love them, the baby entirely helpless and the dog not quite as helpless but without anyone to guide it or take care of it as well. Somehow this dog knew that this baby needed warmth and support. The dog could not provide much more than that, but it was enough in this situation since the baby was found in time. I surely hope the stray dog was given a home too as a reward for being a hero and lifesaver.

Sadly, I do not know what happened to either the child or the dog. But just picturing that event brought tears to my eyes. And since deciding to write about this, I did some more research and found several more stories about dogs who did similar things with children and babies, saving their lives! No wonder we cherish our animal companions so much!

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Written by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs and Sew Bizzy Gifts, her two online shops where she sells handmade items for pets and the people who love them. Debra is also an active member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on ArtFire.