How the dog waited for the owner at the airport for two years, and then flew to Kiev

This story is nearly half a century old. In 1974, at the Vnukovo airport, the owner of Alma couldn’t persuade the staff to require the dog onboard without a certificate. Thanks to eye damage, the Eastern European sheepdog didn’t pass vet control.

The owner was the last to board, and before that, he took off the collar and said goodbye to his pet for an extended time. The mighty IL-18 liner carried a person to the north. The dog ran for an extended time on the runway, trying to catch up with him.

She didn’t accept the loss, didn’t leave the airport. Neither the people that tried to catch her nor the local dog pack that tore up the newcomer forced Alma to go away her post. Gradually, they got wont to the dog. The port service began to feed and protect the sheepdog.

She still didn’t trust people, hiding at the slightest danger, and still saw off every plane. This went on for 2 years until the pilot saw the dog running after the plane from the cockpit of the plane. Vyacheslav Valentey contacted the dispatcher, with an invitation to get rid of the dog from the runway, for her safety.

They explained to him that it had been useless, Alma was trying to find the owner and didn’t let anyone get close. then , the pilot often saw a sheepdog , who met each plane with hope.

Vyacheslav Alexandrovich went through the war, was a prisoner of Dachau and therefore the camps — he knew what grief was and saw it within the dog’s eyes.

He visited the editorial office of Komsomolskaya Pravda and asked to write down that Alma was still waiting. that each commander will take it on board if only there’s an owner.

After the article by Yuri Rost, thousands of individuals from everywhere the USSR wanted to require part within the fate of the sheepdog . And in Norilsk, the pilot was overtaken by an anonymous letter. Its author, the owner of a sheepdog , didn’t consider himself entitled to be the owner and was scared of condemnation of his betrayal.

And yet the faithful Alma was destined to satisfy an equally devoted and selfless friendship. Vera Kotlyarevskaya, a descendant of the Ukrainian classic, left her job in Kyiv and spent several weeks in Vnukovo. She patiently and punctiliously tamed the shepherd, spent all her time together with her.

Knowing that Alma wouldn’t leave her post of her own discretion , she was given a sleeping tablet. The dog was getting wont to the new environment with difficulty. But here she was expected, she was welcome.

People tried to talk softly, and therefore the doors were always open in order that Alma didn’t desire a prisoner. the lady realized that the dog had accepted the family when she saw how gently the dog touched her sleeping daughter. Soon the shepherd became a mother herself and not tried to go away “her” people.

This story inspired the creators of two films. “On a leash at the runway” was released back in 1988, and in March of this year, the premiere of the Russian film “Palm” happened .