Did This Dog Really Save A Newborn Child?

A heart wrenching story is making the rounds claiming that a dog saved an abandoned newborn child from a certain death. But is it true? It all depends on whether or not you believe in miracles, because the baby survived, according to the incredible article.

The story hit social media worldwide and was complete with shocking photographs depicting the K9 carrying the newborn baby gingerly in its mouth, umbilical cord still attached.

In part, the post read: “A dog found a newborn child that had been abandoned in the street by his mother. The dog took the baby in her mouth while avoiding hurting himand put him in front of a house. Thanks to this dog, this baby today is alive and in perfect health.”

Verifying the veracity of these images has proved difficult, as the accompanying text typically makes no mention of details such as time and place. (Some iterations of the message do mention location but attribute the story to multiple, widely varying parts of the world.) Similar reports regarding dog rescues of abandoned children have certainly appeared in the news media over the years, although sometimes in tandem by photographs that have no actual connection to the story being reported. The most common version of this item holds that it occurred somewhere in or around Saudi Arabia, as reported in the Saudi publication Sada. h/t snopes

The pictures went viral in Saudi Arabia this week, showing a dog carrying a newborn baby in its mouth to take her to a nearby house, where she was rushed to hospital. The baby reportedly survived.