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Chilean `Dog Boy' found living in cave

Chile's ``Dog Boy'' peeks through the window of a state-run welfare institution in Concepcion, Chile, yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

A 10-year-old Chilean boy who had been abandoned by his parents survived for two years in a cave with a pack of stray dogs who scavenged for food with him and may even have suckled him, child care workers said on Monday.

The boy, thrown out of his home by abusive parents at the age of five, ran with 15 strays in the southern port town of Talcahuano after he escaped from a care center two years ago.

"He lived in a cave with dogs and roamed the streets for food with them. He would eat out of garbage cans and find leftovers," said Delia Delgatto, head of Chile's national childcare service.

She said earlier reports by the police that the boy had been brought up by dogs since he was a baby had turned out to be off the mark.

"He wasn't reared by the dogs as such, he lived with them in a cave," she said. "They were like his family."

The child, dubbed "Dog Boy" by the Chilean media, spent a day in a hospital in the city of Concepcion and was then taken to a child care center.

"He's showing signs of depression, is aggressive and is not speaking much although he does know how to speak," Delgatto said. "He was dressed almost in rags, was dirty and had filthy hair."
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