An 11-year-old boy was said to be exhibiting canine mannerisms after he was rescued, where he was confined in an apartment and forced to live with 22 dogs. His parents have been charged.
The Jungle Book in real life
It’s almost a real-life twist on the character of Mowgli, from the 1894 Rudyard Kipling novel and later Disney movie, The Jungle Book. In that story, Mowgli is raised by wolves in the jungles of India and develops canine attributes.
Last week, officials rescued an 11-year-old boy confined in an apartment in India’s western city of Pune, where he was forced to live with 22 stray dogs, the Independent/Yahoo News reported.
The parents of the boy ran a shop. They would leave the boy unattended for hours, locked inside their apartment. The boy’s only companions were 22 dogs.
Upon investigation, authorities discovered the animals had a profound influence on the boy.
Boy forced to live with dogs, begins to behave like a canine
Living with dogs had such an influence on the boy that he began picking up canine traits.
Reportedly, in an incident at school, he tried to bite someone. These canine behavioral traits were so pronounced that the boy was taken out of school.
Afterward, the boy spent two years locked up in an apartment in the company of nearly two dozen dogs.
Locals would see the boy staring out the window. Finally, neighbors informed ChildLine about the situation. ChildLine is a non-government organization that works for child rights in India.
Officials from ChildLine came to visit the apartment and found the boy sitting by the window, as neighbors had described, surrounded by dogs, according to reports.
“We got information from the ChildLine official that this boy is locked up in a very inhuman way inside the house,” a child welfare committee official told The Independent. “[The official] tried to make the parents understand to send him to school, but they wouldn’t listen.”
Boy rescued by police, found in inhumane conditions
Frustrated in her efforts, the official informed the police of the situation.
“The official, with the help of local police, broke the door and rescued the child,” the child welfare official said. “The boy was kept with the dogs for two years, and he was taken out of school because he started picking up their behavioral traits.”
“We will take strict action against the parents,” the official said, adding the parents are likely to be arrested on charges of keeping the child confined in inhuman conditions, and will likely appear before a court.
“We also found four dog carcasses there,” said the executive director of ChildLine. “Even animal excreta were not removed from the apartment. The boy was kept in very dirty conditions.”
After the boy was rescued, he was sent to a childcare center.
