neglect
Neglected: Madina, was found naked and crawling on the ground on all fours after being neglected by her alcoholic mother.

A three-year-old girl has been found being cared for by dogs while her alcoholic mother neglected her.

Social workers discovered the girl in her mother's house in Russia, naked and walking on all fours, gnawing bones with the dogs who she clung to for warmth.

The child, called Madina, only knows two words - yes and no - and growls like a dog when people come too close, Russian media reported.

Madina, from Ufa in central Russia, was shunned by other local children in her neighbourhood.

Her mother, known only as Anna, 23, had ignored her for most of her life, police said.

Anna ate at the table while allowing her daughter to eat on the floor with the dogs.

The girl's mother often disappeared and was also frequently too drunk to look after for her child.

'The child is angelic but she has been deprived of love and care, except from the dogs,' said a social worker.

'When her mother was angry she used to run away, but no child played with her in the playground,' said one newspaper report.

'She hardly knew a single word, and fought with everyone.

'So dogs became her best friends. She played with them, and slept with them when it was cold in winter.'

The girl's father disappeared soon after her birth, which led to Madina's mother drinking, said neighbors.

She often invited local alcoholics to her house, completely ignoring her little child, they said.

When police arrived to take the child into care, Anna reportedly claimed: 'I do look after my daughter.'

Medics say the girl is mentally and physically healthy despite her ordeal.