Hero dog keeps boy, 2, warm for two days in subzero porch after mother vanishes

A mother abandoned her son who was eventually found by neighbours suffering from acute hypothermia. 

The boy survived only because of the dog's instincts to keep him warm in the cold conditions. Local officials described the dog as a 'hero' and 'saviour'.  

The unheated porch was attached to a house in a village in the Loktevsky district of Altai region in southern Siberia. 

The boy, found in January in a previously unreported case, remains in hospital, according to reports tonight. 

The mother faces a potential jail sentence and losing the rights to raise her child. She only returned 4 days after the child had been found by neighbours, alone in the home except for the dog. 

She is being investigated in a criminal case, accused of deliberately abandoning her child. None of those involved have been named.