The commander of the bomb squad sheltered the abandoned alabai and gave the dog a start in a new life.
There are a lot of abandoned pets in the area, especially dogs. Therefore, hungry and sometimes injured stray dogs can be found almost everywhere, and they often show aggression in search of food. That's what happened to our hero.
- The request for help from civilians turned out to be not ordinary, not mine clearance. A female Tajik wolfhound (alabai) wandered in one of the districts of the city. There was a puppy nearby, about three months old. They were fed by the military, she wandered around their house. She met everyone in uniform normally and even came up to be stroked. But the trouble is, as soon as she sees civilians, the fur stands on end, growls and rushes... After she attacked several people, I was contacted to remove her," said Nikolai, the commander of the sapper group with the call sign "Thunder". - It's a pity to shoot, but on the other hand, I understand that if you don't attach her to responsible people, there may be trouble.
Most likely, the dog was abandoned by the owners, leaving the frontline city. The puppy was not an Alabai, rather a crossbreed, but with very powerful paws. The fighters could not figure out whether the dog was protecting his puppy or the orphan was attached to it.
She attacked people many times. One man was scared, he fell off his bike and broke his arm. She attacked old woman, bit women by dresses and skirts, tore them. Another man was fighting her off with a bicycle. And this is only a small part of the victims. She didn't touch the military. It is unclear where such hatred of civilians came from. The fighters assumed that someone had injured the dog mentally or physically.
But the sappers decided that they would not shoot at the dog, but would try to take it to themselves. They emptied the trunk of their SUV, found a collar, a leash and returned back.
- For more than an hour we got to know her, stroked her, put on and took off the collar with a leash several times, fed her sausage, persuaded her to come with us - she does not want to. Civilians avoid that area, but children can also run in, and it's a pity to shoot... We decided to try it again the next day," Nikolai continues his story.
- They took a muzzle with them. Again, more than an hour of "dancing with tambourines" around the dog and again it does not go! We try to pull on the leash - it lies down on the ground and that's it. We try to put on a muzzle - she shows her teeth (her teeth are good, she's about three years old), and there's such a jaw that all desire disappears. It's a pity to shoot anyway. I'm calling the commander and asking him to send us a dog handler.
A dog handler with the call sign "Wolfhound" arrived and really subdued poor dog. The guys took the dog and the puppy away. The sappers took the baby for themselves, and the dog, who was called Bagheera, now lives in a field camp under the supervision of a dog handler. Nikolai "Thunder" visits his "combat friend" whenever possible. And he talks about the plans like this: - First, we need to end the war, and second, we will not abandon the dog, its owners have already abandoned it.
Photo from Nikolai's personal archive