zeitoun takes the plight of the neighborhoods abandoned dogs very seriously, why do you think he feels such an obligation to & connection to these animals?

“Looking at it, Zeitoun realized that it was not one long cage, but a series of smaller, divided cages. He had seen similar structures before, on the properties of his clients who kept dogs. This cage, like those, was a single-fenced enclosure divided into smaller ones. He counted sixteen. It looked like a giant kennel...”


Zeitoun's comparison of Camp Greyhound to a kennel has strong symbolic significance. Dogs appear again and again in the novel as objects of compassion; Zeitoun risks his safety to feed his neighbor's dogs, and is sickened when he sees the carcasses of puppies who have been shot. By likening prisoners to dogs, the narrator insinuates that even though they have lost their dignity (whether by their own actions or by being mistreated by law enforcement), they still deserve compassion. It also emphasizes the extent to which prisoners at Camp Greyhound are dehumanized, robbed of every shred of privacy and dignity due to the invasive search procedures and horrid living conditions.

Beyond the camp, I think Zeitoun feels an unconditional acceptance from dogs, something that isn't always shown by American to him.