Woman's Book Chronicles How Families, Pets Meet

By BRANDON OLAND
The Carroll County Times

WESTMINISTER, Md. (AP) -- While watching "The Diary of Anne Frank," animal behaviorist Susan Bulanda couldn't help but notice Mouschi.

When the Franks went into hiding in Holland to avoid being captured by the Nazi forces, the family kept the feline Mouschi with them.

Bulanda, of Westminster, wondered what happened to the pets of Jewish families during World War II. So she studied and placed phone calls with survivors and families.

Many dogs and cats were abandoned when Jews were hauled away to concentration camps. But Bulanda discovered that not all the stories were sad. She chronicled her discoveries in "Faithful Friends," a 144-page book that follows what happened to Holocaust survivors and their pets.

Her book includes the plight of Yvonne Rothschild Klug and her French bulldog Nicolas.

Before the war, Klug was a ballet instructor living in Cavalaire-sur-mer, near St. Tropez on the French Riviera. She was Jewish. Her husband was not.

In October 1943, Klug was arrested by German forces and forced to leave Nicolas behind. She wound up in Auschwitz, a German concentration camp in Poland. Nicolas, adopted by the Nazi Army, toured with them.

After the war, Klug was freed. She received a letter from a family who took in Nicolas after he had been abandoned by the German Army in Nice, France. The family saw Klug's address on a dog tag.

Klug moved to California after the war and brought Nicolas with her. Klug and Nicolas were regularly photographed. Both were prisoner of war survivors.

Klug has passed away, but Bulanda received a written copy of Klug's recount of the war and Nicolas' pedigree from her family. The pedigree features a photo of the bulldog, which is included in the book.

"What was interesting was that her story is not the only one of kindness that was shown to the Jewish people and their pets," Bulanda said. "There was another family herded into the street. The woman begged the German soldier to let her get her cat out of the house so it could survive. He let her."

The idea of basic human kindness during war times appeals to Bulanda.

A print of artist Dan Strivers' "A Time to Heal" is prominently displayed in a side room near Bulanda's kitchen. The painting depicts a World War II scene from the forests of Huertgen on the Belgium-German border. A truce was called so American and German medical personnel could evacuate the wounded.

"In the middle of this war, there came this act of kindness," Bulanda said. "I just like that."

Bulanda's had a lifelong love of animals and a curiosity for how they think and act. She is an adjunct professor at Kutztown University in Berks County, Pa. She founded two canine training and management programs there.

Riley, her energetic Parson Russell Terrier, is usually at her side.

Since "Faithful Friends" was released by Cladach Publishing two years ago, it has won several awards, including second place in nonfiction category of the National League of American Pen Women's Biennial League Writing Awards. The contest is open to all writers associated with the organization that has chapters throughout the country.

"We have a lot of talented women in this organization," National League of American Pen Women President Sharyn Greberman said. "We're proud of the work they do."

Bulanda spent months reaching out to Holocaust survivors and their families. While Mouschi is perhaps the most famous pet owned by a Jewish family during the Civil War due to being mentioned in Frank's diary, Bulanda found stories of other pets who survived a tumultuous period, including a pup named Bogar.

After his family was rounded up by German forces, Bogar lived on the streets until his family was freed after the war from a forced-labor camp. He was reunited with his owner, Kathy Rubin, who found him by surprise once returning home.

"Dogs never forget," Bulanda said. "They remember. They know who it is instantly."

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)