I am big, fluffy, kind \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
born from a mix of breeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven’t known tenderness in a long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve met only sticks and stones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once, a small child came \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
with kind eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I offered my back for a gentle touch \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and he kicked me in the head with his foot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is wrong with you people? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where does so much cruelty come from? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What bad thing did I, a dog, ever do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a soul of God too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At home, eight of my children sit hungry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their father \u2014 a mutt like me \u2014 was killed in the river by some boys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a mother. I am alive. I am tender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frozen. Not having eaten for so long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My puppies \u2014 half-dead \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
living in a cold house \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
wait for their mother in an abandoned basement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s damp there. And so frightening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I believe that somewhere in this city \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
there is one kind Soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will meet her by chance \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
one frosty morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She will buy a whole pile of sausages, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
feed me, pet me, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and say: \u00abCome on, dear \u2014 let’s go feed your children!\u00bb <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I woke up one gentle morning \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
to the first rays of sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I opened my eyes. I sniffed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All eight of my fluffy babies \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
lying beside me \u2014 curled up and warm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kind Soul had come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She stroked my face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looked into my eyes with tenderness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held me tight in her embrace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And whispered into my ear: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abGood morning, sweetheart.\u00bb <\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Tashkent Region, January 2025*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am big, fluffy, kind \u2014 born from a mix of breeds. I haven’t known tenderness in a long time. I’ve met only sticks and stones. Once, a small child came \u2014 with kind eyes. I offered my back for a gentle touch \u2014 and he kicked me in the head with his foot. What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472,"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions\/472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddolganov.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}