Hero pit bull finds newborn

Published in the NY Post, Oct. 14, 2004:

by Patrick Gallahue

A newborn baby was found abandoned on the top floor of a Brooklyn apartment building - and a pit bull named Princess is getting credit for the find.

The dog, a pit-boxer mix who belongs to 12-year-old Yashmina Williams, bolted from her fifth floor apartment in the Red Hook West Houses and raced to the sixth floor landing, where she instinctively warmed the baby by licking it.

The newborn boy's umbilical cord was still attached.  Williams mother, Tonya Williams, wrapped him up and called 911.

"I always wanted to get rid of that dog," Tonya Williams said. "Now, I'll keep him as long as I live."

Williams also offered to adopt the baby.

"I don't want him to go through the foster-care system," she said. "He's been through enough."

The healthy newborn was taken to Long Island College Hospital, police said.