Oxana Malaya ended up having an unusual childhood, as she was raised by stray dogs since the age of 3 after being neglected by her alcoholic parents.
+ Police receive report of ‘man with knife’ and find Harry Potter fan with a wand
Living in a poor village in Ukraine, she adopted the wild behaviors of the animals around her, including barking, growling, and walking on all fours.
For five years, Malaya shared her life with the dogs, abandoning her ability to speak and adopting canine habits such as licking herself and scavenging for food in trash cans. Despite authorities’ attempts to rescue her, Malaya remained deeply connected to the dogs that had taken her in.
It was only at the age of 9, after a delicate intervention, that she was removed from the company of the animals. However, the transition back to human society was difficult, and her language skills remained underdeveloped.
Although she had an emotionally complex encounter with her father many years later, Malaya continues to struggle with trauma and loneliness, finding comfort in the company of dogs and maintaining behaviors learned during her wild childhood.
