How Police Rescued an Eight-Year-Old Boy Who Could Only Bark After Living with Dogs

An eight-year-old boy in Thailand has been rescued from shocking neglect after authorities discovered he had been living in isolation with dogs and had lost the ability to speak, only able to bark like the animals he was raised with.

The child was found during a welfare inspection on Monday, June 30, at a run-down house located in a remote forested area of Lap Lae District in Uttaradit Province. Thai police, in collaboration with activists from the Foundation for Children and Women, raided the home after a tip-off from a local headteacher raised serious concerns about the child’s welfare.

According to local reports, the boy had been living with his 46-year-old mother and 23-year-old brother—both of whom tested positive for drug use following the raid. The family had been cut off from the community, and neighbours reported that their children were forbidden from interacting with the boy due to the family’s reputation and erratic behaviour.

“He didn’t speak, he just barked. It was pitiful to see,” said Paveena Hongsakul, president of the Foundation for Children and Women. “The child had no social interaction, no friends—just six dogs, who became his companions. He mimicked them because they were all he knew.”

Despite his mother receiving government educational stipends of about 400 baht (approximately £9) to support the boy’s schooling, it was discovered that he had only attended school once. “His mother hasn’t allowed him to go to school since receiving the subsidy,” Hongsakul explained. “She simply kept him at home, misusing the funds meant for his education.”

The mother is known in the area for begging at temples and has now been charged with drug abuse. A teacher from the community described the home as being located in a “red zone for drugs,” highlighting the wider issues of substance abuse and neglect in the area.

Images published in Thai media showed the shack surrounded by trees and guarded by the family’s dogs. The boy was taken into protective custody following the raid and is now under the care of social workers at a children’s home, where he will receive medical, psychological, and educational support.

Hongsakul assured that the child’s future is now a priority for the authorities and her organisation. “The boy will be given a chance at a good life. We’ll follow up with him to ensure he gets everything he needs, from proper schooling to emotional healing,” she said.

Cases like this—classified as “feral children,” referring to minors raised in near-complete isolation from human society—are exceedingly rare but underline the extreme consequences of neglect and abandonment. The Thai case is already drawing comparisons to that of Oxana Malaya, the Ukrainian girl famously discovered in 1991 living among dogs after being left behind by alcoholic parents.