8-year-old Thai boy raised by dogs rescued from drug den, only communicates by barking | Trending

An eight-year-old boy rescued from a drug den in Thailand was raised alongside six dogs and now communicates only through barking instead of words. According to a report in Thaiger, the severely neglected boy was often abandoned in the company of his family’s six dogs by his drug-addicted mother and older brother.

He had not been to school in two years. With little human contact and no friends, the eight-year-old boy learned to communicate by barking.

Thai boy rescued

The boy was rescued from squalid conditions in Thailand’s Laplae district, Uttaradit province, on June 30. The rescue operation was initiated after a complaint by the school principal and local activists.

“He didn’t speak, he just barked,” said Pawina Hongsakul, President of the Pawina Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, who led the rescue. “It was pitiful to see.”

Neighbours say that the boy’s mother would leave him alone for hours with six dogs as she went around the neighbourhood begging for food.

The eight-year-old, now being referred to as “Boy A” for legal reasons, would stay alone in a single-storey wooden house in pathetic condition.

No school, no human contact

Both his mother and his 23-year-old brother tested positive for drugs. His mother received 400 baht from the government for his education but never enrolled him in school, said a report in Khaosod English.

The boy never went to kindergarten. He attended Grade 1 for one day, but never went back.

“His mother hasn’t allowed him to go to school since he received a subsidy for free education. After getting the money, she simply kept him at home,” said Pawina.

Wary of the mother’s behaviour, neighbours prevented their own children from playing with the boy. Consequently, he was never socialized properly and never learned to speak. Left in the company of dogs, he began to mimic their behaviour.

“The house is in a red zone for drugs. The boy had no one, just the dogs to play with,” said one local teacher.

The eight-year-old is now being looked after at a children’s shelter home. “The boy will be given a chance at a good life. We’ll follow up with him to make sure he gets everything he needs,” said Pawina.