PURULIA: Had it not been for four dogs, a seven-day-old baby would not have survived. Unable to do much, they just sat around her, chased the crows away and walked around her till someone came and rescued the baby. Locals are thrilled and the four dogs have proved that the adage — a dog is man’s best friend — indeed holds water.On Saturday morning, when schoolteacher Ulhas Chowdhury was crossing a thicket near his residence at Pathardi Para, he was surprised to hear a baby’s cry. He takes the route because it’s a short-cut to his school Manbhum Victoria Institution. He started looking inside the bushes and suddenly saw four dogs moving around something.When Chowdhury reached the spot, he saw that the four dogs were guarding a newborn girl who was wrapped in a pale pink cloth. Seeing him, they started wagging their tails, barked and sat down near the baby. Soon, Chowdhury raised an alarm in the neighbourhood.Locals soon came rushing to the spot. Chowdhury’s neighbour, Parveen Sen, picked up the baby and gave her some milk. “She stopped crying after having that,” said Chowdhury. Interestingly, the dogs had followed the locals to Chowdhury’s residence where the baby was initially brought before officers from the Purulia Sadar police station were informed. The cops in turn informed the 24-hour Child Helpline about the incident.The cops took custody of the newborn and took it to the Deben Mahato Sadar Hospital where doctors confirmed that the baby was seven to ten days old and weighed 2.8kilos. The baby is now admitted in the newborn special care unit at the hospital. “Though she has signs of jaundice, there is nothing to fear,” said Dr Shibshankar Mahato Chowdhury named the baby Sania because she was rescued on a Saturday (Shanivaar). Dipankar Sarkar, district co-ordinator of the Child Helpline, said once the baby is released from hospital, she will be taken to a state-run home-cum-adoption centre at Bhatbandh.“Had it not been for the dogs, we would probably have lost the baby. We are all grateful to them,” Chowdhury said.