12-year-old girl survives alone with dog for 6 months

MBARE (Zimbabwe)
Sep 25, 2006

"A mastiff dog may love a puppy cur for no more reason than that the twain have been tied up together."
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson

On Thursday a young girl, age 12, was found at a remote farm near Snake Park where she had been living since March. Her only companion was a dog.

The girl, an orphan, had been taken from her sister's home and promised "employment". But instead the woman who took her, Hilda Chigwenhere, abandoned her at a farm, ordering her to look after the property but providing her with no food or money.

The girl befriended a dog with whom she lived and scavenged food for over six months. At night the dog would stand guard over her in a small, bare hut.

"Since I was staying by myself and the dog, I had to make sure that it did not starve," she later recounted. "I had to beg for food from nearby plots although some people would chase me away." ¹

On Thursday, following a tip from a worker at a nearby farm, the Stodart Police found the pair and placed the girl in the care of New Hope Zimbabwe, a child protection organization where she is now staying with Pastor Elphus Zadzagomo.

Hilda Chigwenhere was arrested and charged with violations of the Child Protection and Adoption Act.

¹ Chigonga, B. "Orphaned girl (12) abandoned with dog for six months." Herald. 22 Sep 2006.