[extropy-chat] Dog and his boy

[Amara Graps]

Hollywood must surely be eyeing this story...  --Amara

http://www.onlypunjab.com/real/fullstory-newsID-2203.html

Siberian boy 'brought up by dog'
Publish Date : 9/25/2004 1:23:00 PM

A seven-year-old boy who has been brought up by a dog for the
past six years has reportedly been found in Siberia.

Police in the Altai autonomous region were on a routine patrol
in the woods when they spotted the boy in front of an abandoned
house with the elderly dog.

It is thought the undernourished boy was abandoned by his
parents and survived by living off the food he shared with the
dog.

Officers initially thought he was three, but hospital
examinations subsequently put him at seven, and police say all
the evidence points to him having been left for six years.

A spokesman said: "He was running about on all fours and
growling. They thought he was playing at first but the house is
miles from anywhere and is little more than a ruin, and he was
really dirty and naked, so they realised something was wrong.

"When they approached he growled and snarled and tried to bite
them when they tried to pull him away from the old dog."

The boy, who has been named Andrei, does not know how to speak,
and still smells his food like a dog before eating it.

Medical staff have also failed to persuade him to use a spoon,
rather than guzzle the food down with his mouth.

It is not known if the dog was a family pet or a stray who found
the boy.

Police are now searching for his parents, who could be charged
with abuse, neglect and attempted murder.