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A Dog's Tale: Meet Reeny the Ukrainian Hachiko

The heartbreaking true story of how Reeny waited for her murdered human mother on their Makariv porch for days on end

By Rui AlvesPublished about a year ago 4 min read
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A Dog's Tale: Meet Reeny the Ukrainian Hachiko
Photo by Mikhail Vasilyev on Unsplash

This heartbreaking dog's tale holds actual footage and a name, Tetiana Zadorozhniak, who had lost her husband a year ago to an invisible enemy, COVID-19. Afterward, a less insidious foe, but no less nefarious assailant, arrived at her doorway. Now the house is empty, and there only Tetiana's dog, Reeny, has stood watch on an everlasting vigil.

Tetiana's account was given by Anton Gerashchenko, an Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and it is among the latest reports of the invaders' atrocities.

Makariv, Tetiana's hometown, has witnessed some of the most heinous war crimes committed by Putin's forces.

According to Gerashchenko, Tetiana had been waiting for a friend to join her so they could flee the Russians together. However, the invaders arrived first.

The town sits 18 miles southwest of Bucha, another scene of horrific war crimes. Russian soldiers retreated from the city at the end of last month as Ukraine continued its valiant fight back against the Kremlin Forces.

Tetiana was allegedly carried to a neighboring residence by Tchetchen forces from the Kadyrov unit. The Chechen military held her hostage in the town for several days; she was tortured, raped, murdered, and buried in the back garden in Makariv.

Gruesome footage of the murder scene shows the ransacked property and a bed and sheets covered in blood. She was all alone, her neighbors trapped inside as enemy soldiers had orders to kill on sight anybody that would dare to show their face.

The True Story of the Ukrainian Hachiko

We all know the true story of the Japanese dog Hachiko that waited for his human at a train station for almost ten years after his death, as portrayed in Hachi: A Dog's Tale, a 2009 adaptation of the 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari.

Ukraine has many tragic stories about dogs that stay next to their tutors, lying dead on now silent roads across the country, slain by the invaders. Tetiana's tale gets even more woeful when we learn that her dog Reeny is one of those devoted companions, as the dog sat on her front porch for days on end.

The story unfolds tragically as I read about how the 9-year-old dog stood to watch despite her tutor being unable to return home. She was murdered around the 15th of March. Tetiana treated the dog as though it were a child.

Hopefully, Reeny's story caught the eye of Tetiana's relatives as I learned from one of Gerashchenko's tweets.

Another Dog's Tale: The Soviet Hachiko

Reading about Reeny reminded me of a similar dog tale from the Soviet period. We must return to Moscow's Vnukovo airport in 1974.

A passenger attempting to board an Il-18 airliner heading for Norilsk is arguing with a flight attendant on the tarmac while carrying his German shepherd dog by the leash. Suddenly enraged, he removes the dog's collar and boards the jet, leaving her stranded on the tarmac.

One of the pilots, Viatcheslav Valentei, ultimately told the tale of the German shepherd to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, and it touched the hearts of millions of Soviets, as the journalists described how the dog tracked the jet down the runway until she could only follow it with her eyes.

Apparently, the dog's tutor did not have a veterinary certificate for his pet and abandoned him at the airport. For two years, Vnukovo became the home of the abandoned dog.

The aircraft parking area became the dog's home. From there, she would walk to the runway every day. She had memorized the shape of Il-18 and ran every time that model aircraft arrived in the hope of it bringing back her tutor.

Regardless of the weather, the dog spent every day tracking Il-18 model planes on the runway. Airport technicians would feed her and eventually decided to call her Palma.

Palma's story moved the entire country, and eventually, the dog's owner was also located. However, the man expressed no desire or intention to return. He also did not reveal the dog's original name, so she continued to be known as Palma.

Vera Kotliarevskaya became Palma's new tutor. The dog had to be sedated before being transported from Russia's capital to an apartment in Soviet Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

This story inspired the film a Dog Named Palma (Russian: aлма), a 2021 Russian children's drama film produced by Aleksandr Domogarov Jr., which is based on genuine events that occurred in 1974–1976 at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport.

Final Thoughts

Hachiko, Reeny, and Palma's tales remind us that whenever our humanity fades, our beloved animals emerge as the torchbearers of those virtues that should embody humans: loyalty, altruism, and everlasting love.

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Thanks for reading this article. Please consider supporting our community of creators by becoming a Vocal+ Member. Feel free to come back any time and pick up another thread from my Vocal book of content. Small tips, pledges, and big hearts are highly appreciated. Till next time, cheers. - Rui

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About the Creator

Rui Alves

Hi, I'm Rui Alves, a teacher, army veteran & digital pathfinder. Author, alchemist of sound & Gen-AI artist.

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Comments (4)

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  • Rick Henry Christopher about a year ago

    I very much enjoyed reading this. You did a masterful job in presenting it. Excellent.

  • JBazabout a year ago

    Such a great story you chose to write about. Heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Wonderful. Subscribed.

  • Stephanie J. Bradberryabout a year ago

    The love is here! I'm so glad your story was highlighted. You final thoughts say it all. Isn't it ironic that humans need to look to animals for what it means to be a good human. Hearted and Subscribed!

  • Shane Dobbieabout a year ago

    Lovely story. I've selected it, and you, for our Author of the day on the facebook Vocal + Assist page. Expect some love :)

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