Marie Louisa de la Ramee, known by her pen name Ouida, is the original creator of the story that inspired the anime My Patrasche. Born on January 1, 1839, in Bury St. Edmunds, England, she was a 19th-century English novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Ouida, derived from her own childhood pronunciation of her given name Louise. Her father was French, and her mother was English. Throughout her career, she authored more than forty novels, children's books, and collections of short stories and essays. She was also known as an animal rights activist and dog rescuer, often owning many dogs at a time. After living in London for many years, she moved to Italy around 1874, where she died on January 25, 1908.

Her most notable work in relation to anime and manga is the 1872 novel A Dog of Flanders. This story, which follows a poor Belgian boy named Nello and his loyal dog Patrasche, became widely read in Japan and has been adapted into numerous films and television series. The novel is in the public domain. Its enduring popularity in Japan led to several Japanese animated adaptations. The most direct example is the 1992 anime television series My Patrasche, produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha. This 26-episode series is an adaptation of her original novel. Prior to this, Nippon Animation had produced a different 52-episode adaptation titled Flanders no Inu in 1975. A theatrical film adaptation, also titled Flanders no Inu, was released in 1997, and two television specials followed in 2000. For all of these anime productions, Marie Louise de la Ramee is correctly credited as the original author.

Ouida's significance to the anime industry lies not in her direct creation of manga or screenplays, but as the source material author for one of the most enduring and frequently adapted foreign literary properties in Japanese animation history. A Dog of Flanders holds a special cultural position in Japan, where the story has been cherished for generations, and its various anime adaptations have introduced her work to a vast audience. Recurring themes within her original novel include poverty, artistic ambition, loyalty, friendship between a boy and his dog, and the harsh realities of 19th-century European life, all of which are faithfully carried into its animated retellings. Her work continues to be associated with classic, emotionally resonant drama in the anime medium.