Dog snatches newborn infant from crib

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky., July 21 (UPI) -- A newborn baby remained in critical condition Tuesday in a Kentucky hospital after the family dog took him from his crib and dumped him in the woods.

Michael Smith of Nicholasville, father of the boy, told the Lexington Herald-Leader his son, Alexander James, disappeared Monday afternoon. After calling 911, he saw the dog in the yard with the baby.

"She was carrying A.J. like she would carry a stuffed animal, very gentle, kind of like a loaf of bread," Smith said.

The dog ran into the woods. Smith followed his son's crying and found him on the ground about 150 yards into the trees.

Smith said A.J. was born three weeks before his due date and he had not completed child-proofing the house.

The baby and his mother returned home from the hospital Sunday. By Monday afternoon, A.J. was in intensive care at the University of Kentucky Hospital.