Dogs And The Holocaust Essay

Dogs and the Holocaust

It is said that dog is man’s best friend. For decades dogs have served as a human companion used for hunting and guarding. They are also aides for people with disabilities to improve their health-related quality of life. More recently, dogs are even being used in psychological recovery programs. Dogs can help bring about comfort and decrease loneliness. “Medical research has shown that contact with dogs can decrease feelings of anxiety and stress. This evidence relates to the following Holocaust literature: Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years, Maus, and A Scrap of Time. What all of these novels have in common is that they feature the presence of a dog. Authors feel the need to insert dogs into this literature
At this point in the novel, Misha met a new family of wolves in the woods after disconnecting from the original pack she met after escaping. The way she described her encounters were very similar to how somebody acts around a group of strangers. An example of this is when Misha first befriends the pack of wolves. She did not feel safe enough to sleep right beside them at night because she didn’t want to intrude on their den. She even named each of the wolves based on observations she made about them. This makes the wolves seem more human-like. The wolves performed specific rituals when it came to hunting. Misha acquired dog-like behavior by licking and biting with the wolves in a playful manner. The dogs had a certain order of urinating based on superiority in the family. The father would go first followed by the mother, then the young wolves, and Misha would go last. Misha clearly felt as though she were a part of the wolf pack family and found comfort in a family of wolves that she never found within her foster