IF it was not for a woman deciding to take her dog for a walk police could be looking at the awful death of a new-born baby.

The dog sniffed out the unclothed but clean infant in a Walmart plastic bag between a tree and a bush at the Stonegate Villas Apartments in Cypress, Houston, The Houston Chronicle reported.

"If it had not of been for the resident that came out to walk her dogs, that child may have laid there all night, possibly would've died," said Sergeant Gordon Trott of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

"The child could not have been out there very long," said Sgt Trott.



"The child had a normal body temperature."

The baby was taken to Texas Children's Hospital, where she was in a "good condition."

Jenn Jacome, a spokesperson for the hospital, told the New York Daily News that the baby's vital signs - pulse, temperature and blood pressure - were stable and within regular limits. She was conscious and comfortable with her chance of recovery between good and excellent.

Child Protective Services took custody of the baby, weighing 2.1kg, who will be placed in a foster home after recovery, said CPS spokeswoman Gwen Carter.

