Dog Rescues & Saves Newborn Baby

(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.

The abandoned infant was found in a field with this dog and her newborn puppies.

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, Daniel Salcedo, chief of police of the Province of Buenos Aires, told CNN.

The temperature was a chilly 37 degrees, Salcedo said.

The dog had apparently carried the baby some 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."

"The dog is a hero to us."

Dr. Egidio Melia, director of the Melchor Romero Hospital in La Plata, told CNN that police showed up at the hospital at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday with the baby who doctors say was only a few hours old.

Though the infant had superficial scratches and bruises and was bleeding from his mouth, he was in good shape, Melia said.

The next morning, the child's mother was driven by a neighbor to the hospital and told authorities the 8 pound, 13 ounce infant is hers, Melia said.

The teenager was immediately given psychological treatment and was hospitalized, he said. She has said little about the incident.

The child has been transferred to a children's hospital in La Plata, 37 miles from Buenos Aires.

Public Meeting on Preventing Cruelty to Dogs in PA

If you love dogs you need to be there - Join us September 7th from 1-3 for this special day in Ridley Park, PA at Borough Hall.

WHAT: Public Meeting on Preventing Cruelty to Dogs - FREE meeting for animal lovers
WHEN: Sunday, September 7th, 2008, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
WHERE: Ridley Park Borough Hall - 105 East Ward St., Ridley Park, PA, 19078.
Click here for directions.

If you could help prevent animals from being abused by making a few phone calls, would you do it? If so, this is the meeting for you! Join animal lovers from across Pennsylvania for this exciting meeting!

Currently, three bills are being considered in the state House that would strengthen dog and animal cruelty laws in Pennsylvania. House Bill 2525, H.B. 2532 and H.B. 499 are focused on ending puppy mill abuse in PA and increasing fines for animal cruelty. On September 15th, the House will reconvene and now it is more important then ever that PA animal lovers unite to speak on behalf of the dogs! Come to the public meeting and learn more about how YOU can help millions of Pennsylvania's dogs!

Speakers:
Representative Bryan Lentz
Tom Hickey, Sr., a member of the Pennsylvania Dog Law Advisory Board
Howard Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, PSPCA
Bill Smith, Founder of Main Line Animal Rescue and recently featured on Oprah!
Jessie Smith, Pennsylvania's special deputy secretary for Dog Law enforcement
Nicole Wilson, Executive Director, Delaware County SPCA

Meeting attendees will be able to participate in a question and answer session with the panel!

Cat Lovers - while this meeting is mainly dog oriented due to the House Bills, we would not dream of leaving the cats out! The Philadelphia Community Cats Council will have a table with information on adoptable cats as well as information on how you can help them with their spay/neuter efforts.

Animal Welfare Groups Participating:

Reach Out for Animal Rights, an advocacy group working to educate the public on animal mills and spreading the word about the pet store-puppy mill connection.

ZACH ALERT, a PA organization assisting in the safe and timely reunification of lost pets and their families and educating the public on how to keep their animals safe and out of the hands of those who can harm them.

Daisy's Delights Barkery and Boutique will be on site selling their preservative free, great tasting and healthy treats, bones and cakes, for your furry companions. Daisy's Delights products are all natural, and made with human-grade ingredients.

Refreshments will be served!

If you are unable to attend the two-hour meeting but are interested in helping in the fight, please stop by Borough Hall between 1-3 to speak to the advocacy groups outside and pick-up a handbook that will provide details on what YOU can do!