Stray Dogs Guard Baby Dumped in Bushes, Refuse to Leave Her Side Till Rescuers Arrive

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From the archives: This story was last updated in June 2019.

In a striking case of “Man proposes, God disposes,” a newborn girl abandoned in bushes in Purulia, West Bengal, was protected by four stray dogs, which waited patiently by her side till help arrived. According to Times of India (TOI), this incident had thrilled locals, who got reminded of how loyal dogs can be.

Four stray dogs became the protectors of a baby girl left in a dumpster. But they didn’t know what to do with her. The canines just sat around her, watching and guarding her from harm. If the crows came near the infant, the four dogs would chase them away. They remained by the baby’s side till someone came to her rescue.

Finally, one Saturday morning in 2016, Ulnas Chowdhury, a teacher at Manbhum Victoria Institution, was walking through a thicket near his home at Pathardi Para when he heard the baby’s cries. It’s a shortcut to his school—Manbhum Victoria Institution, and Ulnas often takes this route, but he didn’t expect what was in store for him that day.

When Ulnas approached the bushes, he spotted four stray dogs gathering around something. Coming closer, he peeked inside the bushes; then he saw four dogs protecting a baby girl wrapped in a pale pink cloth.

Seeing Ulnas, the dogs barked, wagged their tails, and sat near the baby. The teacher saw four dogs guarding her, keeping the crows away. Quickly, he raised an alarm and jumped into action to save the infant.

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Ulnas gathered people from the neighborhood. His neighbor, Parveen Sen, lifted the baby in her arms and fed her some milk. “She stopped crying after having that,” Ulnas told TOI.

All the while, the very loyal dogs followed the people and the baby to Ulnas’s home, where the infant was kept before she was handed over to the police. Seems like these dogs had a big heart! They were truly the baby’s guardian angels.

The officers from Purulia Sadar police station notified the 24-hour Child Helpline about the newborn, who was subsequently taken to the Deben Mahato Sadar Hospital. The baby, weighing 2.8 kilograms (approx. 6 pounds) and who was about 7 to 10 days old, was then admitted to the newborn special unit at the hospital.

Thankfully, the baby, who was given the name Sania, because she was saved on a Saturday (Shanivaar), was doing fine. “Though she has signs of jaundice, there is nothing to fear,” Dr. Shibshankar Mahato said.

If it weren’t for these four loyal dogs, the infant wouldn’t be alive today. The baby girl eventually found herself a home at a state-run home-cum-adoption center in Bhatbandh. “Had it not been for the dogs, we would probably have lost the baby. We are all grateful to them,” Ulnas said.

In another heartwarming story that took place in Missouri in June 2018, missing 3-year-old girl Remy Elliott was found in a dense cornfield with her pet Yorkshire, named Fat Heath, by her side.

To find the missing Remy, the rescuers, consisting of police and volunteers from nearby communities, launched a search through the rows of a cornfield filled with 5-foot-high stalks. Finally, 12 hours later on a Friday morning, they heard a “weak bark.” “One of the dogs barked and a weaker bark was returned,” Clark Parrott, a sergeant with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told ABC News.

Eventually, it was Merritt’s brother, Quinlin, who found Remy sleeping on some corn stalks, with Fat Heath curled up by her side, KFVS reported. “That dog stayed with her all night long,” Parrott said.

The night was less scary for Remy with Fat Heath around. The girl and her family dog suffered from some dehydration and got a ton of mosquito bites; otherwise, they were in good health.

These stories prove dogs can be incredibly loyal. They defend our homes and will even risk their own lives to protect us from harm in times of danger. Thanks to these canine heroes, the girls survived!

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