The boy quietly opened the door and stepped into the apartment. There was no usual: “Mom, I’m home!” Veronica immediately noticed something strange – her son did not take off his shoes, there was no sound of him unbuttoning his jacket or the rustling of winter clothes. He did not move, did not snore, as usual. 😕
– Timosh, is that you? I bought some herring, the potatoes are almost ready, we’ll have dinner soon. 🍽️
Silence. 😶
– Timofey?
An alarmed Veronica quickly wiped her hands with a kitchen towel and headed into the hallway. One look at her son and everything became clear: something had happened. He stood there, confused, as if in another world. The look he cast at his mother pierced her with alarm. 😨 She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, peering into his worried face:
— Were you beaten? Did you hurt someone? 😢
– N-no… Mom… There…
The boy was shaking all over, barely holding back the tears that were ready to spill out at any moment. 😓
– Tell me, don’t hide anything!
– Mom, there’s a dog… In the trash. He’s injured. It’s not just a trash can, it’s a basement under the house. I wanted to help him, but he growled. He’s lying there and can’t get up, Mom, and it’s cold outside. They even threw trash on top of him. 😔
Veronica breathed a sigh of relief – it’s good that her son is okay. 😌
– Where exactly is this dog? Near our house?
– No, on the next street, where I walk from school. Come on, Mom, he needs help! 🐕
— Have you tried calling one of the adults?
— I tried. But no one wanted to help. Everyone just waved their hands, — said Timofey, looking down. 😞
– Listen, Timofey. It’s late and dark. Undress, take off your jacket. Maybe this dog is just tired and lay down to rest? 🐶
– No, she definitely can’t get up.
– You imagined it. We’ll see tomorrow morning. If she’s still there, we’ll think of something. We’ll call the rescuers or the animal shelter. Okay? Now take off your clothes, you’re freezing. ❄️
Timofey reluctantly began to unbutton his jacket. 🧥
– Mom, what if she freezes overnight?
– It’s a dog, Timofey. And a homeless one, used to the street. It has fur, and it will be able to warm up. Everything will be fine. 🌨️
Reluctantly agreeing, Timofey undressed and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. He turned on the hot water and put his frozen palms under the warm stream, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what he had seen. Her eyes were before his eyes – scared, full of pain. 😢 He remembered looking into the dark entrance of the basement, which served as a garbage can. From there, not a purebred dog was looking at him, but an ordinary mongrel with red spots on its cheeks. How long had she been lying there? Why couldn’t she get up? These thoughts made the boy sick, to the point of nausea. 😞
That evening he was walking with a friend. It was quite warm, as for winter, but the frost persisted, and the snow lay like a white carpet. ❄️ They sledded down the hill for a long time, sometimes on sleds, sometimes just on their feet, imagining themselves snowboarders. 🛷 When they decided to go home, they wanted to shorten the route and turned onto a narrow path past the house. What made Timofey suddenly turn around and look into the darkness of the garbage chute? Eyes flashed in the darkness. At first he thought it was a cat. Together with his friend, they came closer and saw… a dog. 🐕
– Hold my legs, I’ll try to get it!
Timofey lay down on the ground near the hatch, stretching his arms down. But the dog immediately growled. 🐾
“Leave her alone and let’s go home. She’s probably just sleeping,” said the friend.
– Doggy, doggy! Come to me! Tyu-tyu, ty-tyu! – Timofey called the dog, but it did not move. – Come to me, my dear, I want to help! – the boy did not give up, leaning deeper and deeper towards the hatch. The dog responded only with a quiet but menacing growl.
Timofey turned on the flashlight on his phone and shone it inside the hatch. In the dim light, tufts of the dog’s fur, cut up by bite marks, became visible, and a deep bleeding wound gaped on the back paw. How could such an unfortunate animal be left in trouble? 😢
For half an hour, eleven-year-old Timofey stood by the hatch, waiting for passersby, and, barely holding back tears, begged them to help pull the dog out. But no one stopped. Young guys, grown men, even elderly passersby – everyone just waved him off.
“Why do you need that? Go home, don’t touch him. He’ll get out himself if he wants to,” one of the men said, looking at the boy indifferently.
Timofey’s friend eventually left too, citing hunger. The boy was left alone. But he couldn’t leave the dog. 😟
In the morning Timofey woke up earlier than usual. He quickly got dressed and went out into the hallway. Veronica, his mother, was already getting ready for work.
“Mom, I want to go see what’s wrong with the dog,” he said, barely having time to open his eyes.
– Timofey, I’m sure she’s not there anymore. You were worried for nothing and didn’t get enough sleep because of nonsense, – the woman sighed.
Timofey didn’t answer. He quickly got ready and ran out of the house. Running up to the hatch, he looked inside again. The dog was still there. It lay motionless, curled up in a ball, barely breathing.
“Mom, she’s there!” Timofey said in a trembling voice, calling his mother. “We can’t leave her like this!” 😢
“Okay, I’ll think of something,” Veronica answered, trying to calm her son.
The woman began calling services, hoping to find help. The rescue service told her that it was not their responsibility, and the management company responsible for the garbage bins refused to help at all.
– Mom, did you find out anything? She’s still there… – Timofey called at every break, unable to find a place for himself.
By lunchtime, Veronica no longer knew what to do. Then she called her friend Natalia.
– Natasha, I’m completely confused… Timofey found a dog. It’s in trouble, and no one wants to help.
A friend suggested contacting an animal shelter. Having found the contacts of the shelter “Elin’s House”, Natalia contacted the volunteers.
“We’ll come, don’t worry,” they replied when they heard about the trouble.
Timofey was waiting for them there, having run away from his last lesson. He stood by the hatch, stroking the dog with gentle words.
“She’s here! She’s here!” he shouted, noticing the arriving volunteers.
A volunteer girl climbed down into a garbage manhole, holding a blanket tightly in her hands. The other volunteers insured her, supporting her by the legs. The dog whined pitifully, barking was no longer within her power. Pulling the animal to the surface was not easy: due to the severe frost, her body froze to the metal, as she lay in her own excrement. 🐕💔
“Well, that’s it, now you’re safe, poor thing,” the girl said softly, carefully stroking the dog’s head. “Oh, my skinny one, what have they brought you to… Just bones!”
The dog was silent, did not growl, it seemed that she had given up. She was wrapped in a blanket and laid on the ground. She lay there without strength, barely breathing. Timofey walked around nervously, unable to find a place for himself. His thoughts were tormented by questions: what will happen to the dog now? How to treat her? Will she ever be able to walk?
“Look, my friend, who’s your savior!” the volunteer said to the dog, pointing at the boy. “This is the hero who pulled you out!” 🦸♂️
“I’m not a hero…” Timofey muttered, embarrassed. “What will happen to her now? She needs treatment. It’s like she’s been shot.”
“Most likely, these are bite marks from other dogs,” the volunteer explained. “We’ll take her to the clinic, and the vets will treat her.”
The wound on the paw turned out to be serious, and the dog’s body was severely hypothermic. She was treated for a long time at a veterinary clinic, and then transported to a shelter. But after a while, Timofey and his mother decided to take the dog home for temporary care. 🏠🐕
The rescue story quickly spread around the area, and journalists became interested in it. Articles appeared in newspapers, and Timofey began to be invited for interviews. But the boy himself did not consider himself a hero.
“I just did what every person with a conscience should do,” Timofey said modestly. “My actions were ordinary. People are so used to indifference that any drop of kindness seems unusual to them. It’s sad. I didn’t do anything special, but it surprised everyone. Can you imagine how cruel our world has become? 😔
“What would you like to change in the world?” the journalist asked.
“I want people to become kinder,” the boy answered honestly.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” the reporter persisted.
— I want to be a dog handler, work with dogs. And also a volunteer. Now they won’t take me — they say I’m too small. But I will definitely help animals, people, and especially the elderly. I feel very sorry for them. They are so lonely, and I want to become their friend and helper. 🐶🤝
– How is Jack feeling now? Is that what you named your dog?
– Yes, this is my Jack now. He is already completely healthy. Jack, come here, boy! Let’s show what we can do?
The cheerful dog rushed towards his little owner. 🐕❤️
– Sit, Jack! Lie down! Crawl! Well done, how smart you are! 😄
Timofey is a boy with a kind but wounded heart. After all, it is precisely such hearts that ache from someone else’s pain that cannot remain indifferent. As long as there are people in the world who suffer and need help, people like Timofey will feel their pain. But if there are more such people, good will definitely win. And then we will all be happy, loved and needed by each other. 🌍❤️