A stray dog rescued an abandoned newborn baby girl that was left to die in a trash bag, a report says

• A stray dog in Lebanon rescued an abandoned baby that was left to die in a trash bag.
• A passerby heard the baby's cries coming from inside the bag the dog was carrying.

A stray dog in Lebanon rescued an abandoned baby girl that was left to die in a trash bag, a report says.

The dog was seen carrying the bag by a passerby who heard the newborn baby's cries coming from inside, Arab News reported.

The bruised infant, who is believed to have only been a few hours old, was taken to hospital for treatment in Tripoli, per the outlet.

The child was described as being in a "serious but stable" condition. No further information is known about her health and the circumstances of her abandonment.

Images purportedly of the injured child have circulated on social media, with many people expressing sympathy for the infant.

Authorities are investigating the incident, and the baby will be put in an orphanage if no one offers to adopt her.

Social media users also hailed the dog as a hero. "The dog has much more humanity, kindness, cunning, and intelligence than some satanic mutants in human form," wrote one.

Ghassan Rifi, a journalist in Tripoli, said that the baby was left in a non-residential area where there are lots of stray dogs.

"Is it possible that whoever dumped her wanted to get rid of her by letting the dogs eat her in this area infested with stray dogs, and that she was saved by that man who happened to be there by chance?" Rifi said, according to Arab News.

But in any case, "the dog that dragged her was more humane in the face of the brutality and criminality of the one who threw her," Rifi said on Twitter.