Motherly instincts don’t only extend to biological children. Women with motherly instincts will seek to protect children even if they aren’t their own. This goes for dog moms too.
A dog was nursing her six newborn puppies when she rescued a human child that was left abandoned by its 14-year-old mother.
The puppy was apparently sheltering the boy as if it were her own in a field in rural Argentina.
The 8-year-old dog, whose name is La China, is said to have heard the baby crying in a field in La Plata, a shanty town outside the capital of Buenos Aires.
The area was said to have been surrounded by wooden boxes and rubbish.
La China was able to somehow pick up the baby and carry it about 50 meters or 54 yards to where her own puppies were huddled together safe.
Source: YouTube Screenshot
“She took it like a puppy and rescued it,” Daniel Salcedo, chief of police of the Province of Buenos Aires told CNN. “The doctors told us if she hadn’t done this, he would have died. The dog is a hero to us.”
The BBC said that the dog’s owner heard the baby, who was born prematurely, crying and followed the sounds to find the child curled up with the momma dog and covered with a rag in 37-degree weather.
The baby weighed 8lb pounds and 13 oz. and had a few cuts and bruises but was otherwise in good health. The dog’s owner immediately called the police who took the child into custody.
Doctors said that the baby was only a few hours old.
The baby’s frightened mother apparently was driven to the hospital shortly after the baby was found and told authorities that the baby was hers. The child was given psychological treatment and was hospitalized. She was transferred to a children’s hospital in La Plata.
Source: YouTube Screenshot
The Argentina media has dubbed the story as the “Argentine Romulus and Remus” which is a legend about how Rome was founded when two abandoned babies were rescued by a wolf more than 3,000 years ago.
The news media has descended upon La China’s home to get pictures of the dog but this has apparently made her terribly frightened.
She just wants to protect her babies and is shying away from cameras. Her owner reported that she hasn’t been eating much because of all the media attention on her which was stressing her out.
Source: YouTube Screenshot
La China isn’t used to her hero status. After all, she was just following her instincts.
Studies have shown that dogs are capable of having empathy and displaying “moral behaviors“, even toward humans.
“What is extraordinary is that dogs are so close to us — and so much a part of our lives — that they sometimes happen to be in the right time and place, and whether intentional or not, manage to save lives,” Dr. Brian Hare, founder of the Duke University Canine Cognition Center said.
They can also tell when a human child is feeling vulnerable and will go out of their way to protect it.
“All dogs have a mating drive and den instincts; it’s part of what’s called their ‘pack drive.’” When a dog has a strong pack drive and is tightly bonded with his family, it’s only natural that he becomes protective of a new baby when he or she arrives,” the American Kennel Club explains.
Learn more about La China’s heroic act in the video below.
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