World News for Students of English

11-09-2015 07:00

A two-year-old boy has been taken into protective care after he was found by a neighbour feeding from her pregnant dog in Chile. Officers, who found the toddler in a scrap metal yard in a region close to the country’s border with Peru, said he was in a state of abandonment.

The director of Chile’s National Service for Minors, Marcela Labraña, described the situation as completely inhumane.

Neighbour Lori Escudero reported it to police after she witnessed the boy suckling on her pregnant dog. She says,” Everyone here, we’re all parents, and if you saw what we saw from my position as a woman, as a mother, it was terrible…”

The case has sparked outrage in Chile where child abandonment is a continuing issue. Child welfare officials have taken custody of the toddler and a court hearing has been set for September 22nd to decide who cares for him in the future.

Difficult words: toddler (a young child who is just beginning to walk), abandonment (the action of abandoning or being abandoned; abandon – to stop looking after somebody), suckle (to feed from a breast), spark (to start), outrage (a reaction of shock), welfare official (a person who does welfare work – taking care of people who are in trouble).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com