*** Sorry for the bad English. I translated my story from Russian ("Ночной патруль или собака - друг человека") - especially for visitors to the page of the well-known specialist in dog behavior Cesar Millan (in Facebook), which makes this world a better by correcting the behavior of dogs and their owners.
Autumn of the 1990s. The beginning of the school year.
The student hostel of the Odessa Institute of Communications, located in the Arcadia microdistrict, which includes the Black Sea beach "Arcadia". Arcadia is the final stop of tram No. 5, which runs from the old town. From Komsomolskaya Street (now ul.Staroportofrankovskaya, the name of the street can be used as an exercise to improve diction), through the famous market "Privoz". Travel on trams and trolleybuses in Odessa was free for some time.
After watching enough programs about a healthy lifestyle and the benefits of jogging in the fresh air, I also decided to take a walk - along the sea embankment, which was no more than a kilometer away.
There were no people willing to accompany me, but I was so eager, as in the famous old feature film, to "watch the wave", that I did not give up my intentions. If I had shown the same perseverance in my studies, perhaps this story would have been called "Dissertation on the topic", or even "My favorite villa in the Maldives".
So, the evening of a warm southern September day ("evening of the day" is an interesting phrase). It's getting dark. I walk along the embankment, breathe the fresh sea air and "admire the wave".
Not far away runs a dog-a friendly-looking small dog of the breed "Odessa mongrel". He, too, probably wanted to "admire the wave". He ran up to me. I had some cakes with me and I gave them to him.
- Eat, eat, Jack. Did you like the cakes?
Having tasted my treat, the Ball wagged its tail contentedly and, being too shy to keep me company, ran about its business.
After breathing in plenty of fresh air, I go home. Twilight had already given way to darkness, and it was already possible to admire not only the wave, but also the starry sky. It is said that a person never gets tired of looking at three things: fire, water in the sea, and stars in the sky.
No one around. Suddenly I feel that someone has wrapped his arms around me from behind. Perhaps because of the lapping of the waves, I didn't hear the attacker's approaching footsteps.
I don't remember exactly what he said, but it all came down to this: "He's a criminal, either released or escaped from prison, and now he's decided that I should follow him."
Any normal person in my place would start shouting at the top of their lungs: "Help! Save me! Fire! Help me!" Help!", but I probably considered this behavior unfeminine and calmly told the attacker that my uncle is a captain of the Odessa police, and that if he does not give up his plans, it will be a relapse, and the term will be longer than the previous one. And that my uncle knows where I went, and soon there will be a police squad here.
Probably, this criminal was a descendant of Stanislavsky (the famous founder of the theater school in his system), whose famous phrase was "I do not believe". He was not afraid of my "uncle-the captain of the militia" and was not going to retreat.
Meanwhile, I was almost ready to scream and call for help, having changed my views on femininity. But help came to me by itself-suddenly I heard a dog barking and out of the darkness, out of nowhere, there was a Jack, which I had treated to cakes half an hour ago.
Jack's argument seemed more convincing to the criminal than mine, and he instantly disappeared into the night.
The noble Jack did not wait for gratitude and again ran about his business-to patrol the night streets of Odessa. Perhaps he sensed that someone else needed his help.
Since then, buying the well-known sweet tooth chocolates "Arcadia", I remember the Odessa resort district of Arcadia and the Jack that saved me.
P.S. There is a saying on the Internet attributed to Winston Churchill. I can't say to whom these words belong - but they give reason for reflection:
"If you are able:
- to start your day without coffee;
- to be cheerful and do not pay attention to pain and ailments;
- to refrain from complaining and not bore people with your problems;
- to eat the same food every day and be grateful for it;
- to understand a loved one when they don't have enough time for you, ignore the accusations from a loved one when everything goes wrong through no fault of your own;
- to take criticism calmly;
- to treat your poor friend the same as you treat a rich one;
- to live without lies and deception;
- to fight stress without medication, to relax without drinking, to fall asleep without pills;
- to honestly say that you have no preconceptions about skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or politics means - then you have reached the level of development of your dog."