An 8-year-old boy in Thailand’s Uttaradit Province, who had been neglected for years by his drug-addicted mother, spent most of his time with dogs and started communicating by barking.

Paveena Hongsakul of the Foundation for Children and Women learned about an 8-year-old boy in a drug-infested’ red zone of Uttaradit Province who had been neglected by his mother and older brother for so long that he started behaving like the dogs he spent most of his tie with. The disturbing case had been pitched to her by a school principal in Lap Lae district who claimed that the boy’s mother had brought him to school once only to collect benefits, but had never enrolled him. The child had not been in kindergarten either and had been emotionally abandoned by his mother and brother. He had found the love and attention he craved from a pack of dogs, and instead of talking like a human, he began to bark like them.

Hongsakul coordinated with local police in Lap Lae district to investigate the case and was shocked to discover that her information had been correct. Upon testing the boy’s 46-year-old mother and his 23-year-old brother, officers confirmed that they both had drugs in their system and were more concerned with getting their next fix than raising the boy.

After questioning the neighbors, law enforcement officers learned that the mother routinely begged for money and food, and because of her known drug use, most people avoided the whole family. That meant that kids wouldn’t play with the woman’s youngest son, and since she and her older son ignored him, he had taken refuge in a pack of dogs, imitating their behavior, even their barking.

Thai newspaper Khaosod reports that the boy, referred to only as ‘A’ to protect his privacy, was taken to the Uttaradit Children’s Home, where experts will make sure he learns to communicate in a human language and that he gets a proper education.