Oxana Malaya
| Oxana Malaya | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1983 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Other names | Ukrainian Dog Girl |
| Known for | Feral child |
Oxana Oleksandrivna Malaya (Ukrainian: Оксана Олександрівна Малая) (born November 4, 1983 in Kherson Oblast, then Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian mental patient internationally known for her morbid dog-imitating behaviour. Oxana has been the subject of documentaries, interviews, and tabloid headlines as a feral child "raised by dogs", although it is not clear if she ever lived separately from people.
| Oxana Malaya in her nursing home | |
 Oxana Malaya in her nursing home Fakty i kommentarii |
External imagesBiography[edit]
Oxana was born in Nova Blagovishchenka village of Hornostaiv Raion, Kherson Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR to a large family and probably suffered developmental disorder. She was removed from her alcoholic parents at an early age due to neglect.
In the orphanages she stayed at, she bonded emotionally with the orphanage semi-stray dogs, and progressively acquired many dog-like behaviours, which stunted her abilities in language, normal human social and emotional skills. Oxana was eventually transferred to the nursing home for mentally- disabled adults in Barabol (Ovidiopol Raion of Odessa Oblast). She underwent years of specialized therapy and education to address her behavioral, social, and educational issues. She was taught to speak fluently, and many of her behavioral problems have been remedied.
In a British Channel 4 documentary, as well in the Portuguese SIC channel documentary, her doctors stated that it is unlikely that she will ever be properly rehabilitated into "normal" society.
As of 2003, Oxana Malaya was living and working at the Barabol nursing home, looking after cows and horses.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Повторившая судьбу маугли 17-летняя воспитанница одесского интерната оксана малая совсем не обижается, когда ее называют девочкой-собакой - 2001 article in Fakty i kommentarii tabloid (Ukrainian)
- У героини публикации «фактов» оксаны малой, которая выросла в… Собачьей конуре, нашлись родной брат и маленькая племянница, тоже оксана - 2003 follow-up article in Fakty i kommentarii (Ukrainian)
- Daily Telegraph article
- Animal Planet Raised Wild documentary
