Rescued 8-year-old Thai boy raised among dogs only communicates by barking

By Balaram Menon

An eight-year-old boy from Thailand’s Laplae district has been rescued from a drug-ridden home where he was raised in near-total isolation and learned to communicate only by barking.Authorities found the boy living in squalor, surrounded by six dogs, after a school principal and local activists raised the alarm, according to a report in Thaiger.A childhood in isolationThe child, referred to as “Boy A” for legal reasons, had not attended school for over two years. His mother, a drug addict, reportedly left him alone for hours each day in a dilapidated wooden house while she roamed the neighbourhood begging for food..Watch: A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks.With no friends, no adult supervision, and only the dogs for company, the boy began mimicking their behaviour — communicating by barking instead of speaking.“He didn’t speak, he just barked,” said Pawina Hongsakul, head of the Pawina Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women, which led the rescue operation on June 30. “It was pitiful to see.”Neglect, drugs, and aid misuseBoth the boy’s mother and 23-year-old brother tested positive for drug use, according to local reports. Although the government provided the mother with a 400-baht subsidy for the child’s education, she never enrolled him in school.The boy reportedly attended Grade 1 for only one day before being kept at home indefinitely..Kangaroo attacks man in Australian floodwaters, ‘tries to drown’ him in shocking encounter.“After receiving the education subsidy, the mother simply pocketed the money and never let him attend school again,” said Pawina.A neighbourhood that turned awayDue to the mother’s erratic behaviour and the home’s reputation as a local drug hotspot, neighbours discouraged their own children from playing with the boy. As a result, he was never socialised and never learned to speak in words.A path to recoveryThe child has now been relocated to a shelter home, where he is receiving proper care. “The boy will be given a chance at a good life,” said Pawina. “We’ll stay involved to ensure he gets the help and education he needs.”.Mischievous cat ‘arrested’ at Bangkok police station after biting officers.Dramatic dolphin birth at Brookfield Zoo captured on camera — see the beautiful moment

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