Dog protected abandoned newborn, doctors say

(CNN) -- A dog sheltered a newborn baby abandoned by its 14-year-old mother in a field in rural Argentina until the boy was rescued, a doctor said Friday.

A resident of a rural area outside La Plata called police late Wednesday night to say that he had heard the baby crying in a field behind his house.

The man went outside and found the infant lying beside the dog and its six newborn puppies, said Daniel Salcedo, chief of police of the Province of Buenos Aires.

The temperature was a chilly 37 degrees, Salcedo said.

The dog had apparently carried the baby 50 meters from where his mother had abandoned him to where the puppies were huddled, police said.

"She took it like a puppy and rescued it," Salcedo said. "The doctors told us if she hadn't done this, he would have died...cont'd

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/08/22/argentina.dog.tale/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Maybe there's some other coverage of this story to be found online that tells a more
complete story.

I remember a story from a long time ago. Family home burning down. There was a 3-4 y.o. child trapped in the house. The family doberman found the child and positioned it's body over top of the child and laid down on top of him. By the time the firemen reached the child, the doberman had sustained burns to it's back, legs, and face, but refused to leave the child. The child escaped with only minor burns and smoke inhalation.

Dogs are more sensitive and intelligent than most have any idea about.

One of the most popular Doberman photographs on the web is that of the fireman being licked by a Doberman. The photo really is memorable and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Now like some things circulating on the net, the story is not all factual. Thanks to the Snopes website we have the real story behind this photo.
Although the photo is real, the details have been altered a bit. The photo was taken during a house fire in 1999 and shows fireman Jeff Clark being licked by a pregnant, red Doberman named “Cinnamon”. The photo description has people believe that Cinnamon was thanking the firefighter for carrying her out the burning house, saving her life.

What in fact occurred at the time, during the fire there was already one dog outside in the yard and another one ran out of the house on it’s own. At the moment that the firefighter knelt down and removed his mask, Cinnamon walked over and licked him at the most opportune timing for photographer Patrick Schneider. A little bit of history preserved forever.

Jeff Clark works for the Charlotte Fire Department. Pregnant, Cinnamon did give birth to five puppies and eventually passed away in 2005.

Thanks Cinnamon and Jeff for the heart warming moment and Patrick for the great shot.

(An interview with Jeff Clark is available at Snopes.com)

But they are some of the most fiercely loyal dogs around.

Still... when they get to barking and bearing their teeth... they kinda scare the crap out of me.

"Still... when they get to barking and bearing their teeth... they kinda scare the crap out of me."

That's kinda the whole point. ;) (They'd rather frighten you than hurt you but if you're too stupid to get the hint, hurt you they can.)

... it doesn't have NEARLY the same effect on me. :)

That's the way I like my dogs. Too damn cute to scare me.

Fair enough. I think my new little mix might have some Dobie in her but, lucky for me, she doesn't have the size that usually comes with them. Makes her a lot less scary.

I just have a soft spot for the "bad reputation" dogs like Rotties and Dobies, Boxers and Bulldogs - they're usually the biggest babies and sweethearts. I used to volunteer at a shelter and I always got to walk the "bad" boys because no one else liked to. I like 'em. Heck, the only dog that ever bit me was a Daschund so I don't put a whole lot of stock in conventional doggie wisdom! :rofl:

But I do get your point. :)