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 SANTIAGO (Chile) — A homeless boy who had reportedly lived
with stray dogs for several years disappeared from the child care center
where he was undergoing psychiatric conditioning, according to a Reuters
report published in the Sun-Sentinel this morning.
Ten-year-old "Axel" (who had
previously been known only by the name given to him by the Chilean
media: "Dog Boy") made
headlines in June when he was discovered to have been living on the
streets of Talcahuano with a family of 15 stray dogs who protected and
nurtured him for several years (see June
19 article). The boy had apparently survived by
scavenging for food in trash cans with his canine foster family.
Chilean police said that he had also subsisted on dog's milk.
"Yes, because I was hungry,"
he told police. "It was my breakfast."
Last week, the boy (whose name cannot
be revealed under Chilean law) escaped from a
children's home in the southern city of Concepcion. "He was responding well to psychiatric treatment and his relations
with other people were improving but last week he got up and left,''
spokesperson Miriam Olate told reporters.
Understandably, Axel has good reason to shun human society.
Records show that he was had been thrown out of his home by abusive parents when
he was five years old. After that, he was placed in a children's
home which he couldn't tolerate, eventually escaping in 1998. He
was again found in June of this year and taken back to a state-run
children's home. |
During the months since, social workers noted that it was difficult for him to re-integrate
back into human society.
"He is not happy being back with his own kind," said a
police spokesperson last June after Axel had been captured by police.
After a few days of observation, Delia Delgatto, head of Chile's
National Childcare Service reported: "He's showing signs of
depression, is aggressive and is not speaking much although he does know
how to speak."
Axel reportedly spent much of his time drawing crayon pictures of his
family, all dogs. A social worker involved in the case commented: "He is like a
modern-day Mowgli. He not only survived with these dogs, he grew
to love them as if they were his family."
It is believed that Axel escaped last week by climbing over a
wall. The child's whereabouts are unknown at this time;
although if it's any hint, authorities would be wise to note what he
said in June after he was captured: "The dogs are my family,"
he told police. "Please let me go back to them."
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