A dog has been hailed a hero after saving a newborn baby abandoned in the bushes.
Proving that dog really is man’s best friend, Macho the Jack Russell, discovered the dumped bub in a park in St Petersburg, Russia.
Vesti Rossiya/east2westnews
After hearing the baby girl’s whimpering, Macho tugged at his lead, pulling his owner off the path and into the undergrowth where the baby was discovered.
Suffering from hypothermia and wrapped in just a t-shirt, the baby was just minutes from death.
Macho’s owner explained, ‘I felt my heart pounding when I saw the baby. She was waving her little legs and arms in the air, but she was silent.’
Vesti Rossiya/east2westnews
‘Doctors told me later she must have been crying for hours,’ he added.
The pensioner scooped up the baby and rushed her over to a Russian national guard patrol.
She was quickly taken to hospital ‘just in time to save her,’ said doctors.
Weighing just 5lbs, the baby was suffering from severe ‘hypothermia’ and a lack of oxygen.
Vesti Rossiya/east2westnews
Five days after the rescue, medics say that girl is ‘extremely robust’, with a nurse adding, ‘she is a fighter.’
They are confident that she’ll survive.
Police are now searching for the mother of the abandoned baby.
Macho’s owner is still in shock from his pooch’s discovery, adding, ‘The whole story made me feel very upset.’
Kathryn LewseyKathryn is a Senior Features Writer for that's life! magazine. Her work has been published in The Sun, Daily Mail, Chat, Closer, Kidspot, Real People, Take a Break and MarieClaire.com.au