Angel Baby ~ Off Subject ~ but what an UPPER!

[Guest guest]

Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 18:49:58 -0700

Subject: Angel Baby

They are calling her " angel baby, " a new-born abandoned in the

Lenana forest on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya last week.

The 7 pound 4 ounce baby girl had been placed in a plastic bag and

dropped in the woods without nourishment or water. There she lay for

perhaps two days, starving, her umbilical cord infected. She must

have cried out, but along the busy road that bordered the forest, no

one was listening, nobody heard. Well, almost no one...

" I had just reached the Lenana forest, " local Stephan Thoya told a

Kenya daily paper, " When I heard the sound of a baby crying. I

looked closely and I saw a dog carrying a baby wrapped in a black

dirty cloth as it crossed the road. "

The dog — mixed breed, no name, probably a stray — was likely out

foraging for a meal. She'd just given birth to a litter of puppies

and they were hungry.

Now, this story could have taken an unfortunate and grisly turn but,

remember, we're talking about a dog. These are creatures who have

shared our lives for at least 12,000 years. There is a bond.

Was the canine mother moved by the plight of this human infant? Was

it just blind instinct? Whatever the case, she carried the little

girl back to her own litter, caring for her as best she could.

That's where the child was ultimately found: nestled amongst a pile

of puppies under the watchful eye of the mother dog.

She was taken to a local hospital and is now doing fine.

And the dog? Well, dozens of Kenyans are visiting her home, bringing

food and medication. One person has even offered to feed the dog

until the day she dies.

However sceptical you may be about the intelligence of non-human

animals, it would be hard to argue that, in this case, a dog — and a

hungry stray at that — acted more responsibly than at least one

human.

Going to the dogs? Well, maybe... if you're lucky!