Daniel Barber and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2003

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Russian Orphan Preferred Life with Dogs

A wild six-year-old boy has been captured
by social service workers in Moscow, the
Russian capital, after escaping from his
orphanage in an impoverished region of
the city more than 8 months ago. He was
found after several witnesses saw a street
urchin living with a pack of stray dogs.
Ivan Petrovich was picked up by Moscow
Social Services on Monday

The boy, named Ivan, was reported
missing last October by workers at the
notorious Gorky Home for Lost Children,
where conditions have been described as
Dickensian by a United Nations report
on care for orphans. It is believed that he
had become so distressed at the brutal
conditions there that he opted instead for
an equally hostile existence outside the
home.

Its an impossible choice - a life on the
streets in Moscow or life trapped in that
orphanage, Liz McCochlan, a
spokesperson for the London charity
organisation Children in Need said
yesterday. The inhumane treatment of
children is well documented, and there
simply arent enough funds to make a
difference.

Once out on the streets, the boy seems to
have befriended a number of feral dogs
who, like him, had learned to live rough in
one of the coldest capitals in the world.
The relationship was mutual; Ivan used his
limited Russian to beg for food for him and
the dogs. The dogs in turn sniffed out
warm places in sewers and abandoned
buildings. In this way they managed to
survive the infamous harsh sub-zero
temperatures of the Russian winter.

Capturing the boy was not easy. During his
short life he had learned not to trust adults.
The dogs were reluctant to let him go, too,
and attacked the police and social workers
whenever they attempted to approach the
boy. Eventually, they succeeded in
separating him kicking and screaming
from the strays by using a bait of meat and
sausages and locking the dogs in a store
cupboard while they whisked the boy
away.

The boy is now in the custody of the local
authorities. What will happen next is
uncertain. Several families have expressed
an interest in adopting Ivan, who is
reported to be in good health while the
rehabilitation process begins.