Malvina Adopted After Six Years in Krasnoyarsk Shelter

Not everyone would take an adult dog with an unpleasant illness. Malvina spent six years in a shelter; now she is eight, and by dog standards, that is almost a pre-retirement age. How a stray dog found a family and what it meant for the residents of Krasnoyarsk — in a report by NGS24.RU correspondent Tatyana Zarva.

‘She Was Skinny, Just Really Thin’

Despite being a beautiful and kind dog named Malvina attracting many people to the ‘Drug’ animal shelter who left with their own pets, she herself could not find her person or family for six whole years.

Numerous events, meetings, picnics, walks — Malvina was always in sight of people, going up to them and asking to be petted. But every time she returned to the shelter enclosure to her friend Pirate.

Now Malvina is eight years old; by dog standards she is slowly approaching old age, and only at this age did she finally find a family where she is loved, petted a lot, and even allowed to misbehave.

Before coming to the shelter, Malvina lived wherever she could. In 2019, the head of the ‘Drug’ shelter, Marina Yakubenko, found her in a stairwell in Beryozovka (a suburb of Krasnoyarsk) — residents had complained about her and the puppies she had. There were, of course, those who fed the dog, but many wanted to get rid of her quickly. The head of the management company where Marina then worked decided to help her, and Malvina was taken to the shelter along with her puppies.

‘Management said to me: “Let us help you at first — we’ll pay for vaccinations and sterilization,” and I took Malvina. She was skinny, really thin, but we took her, loaded her up, and brought her to the shelter,’ says Marina.

The puppies, as usual, were given away quickly, but their mother Malvina ‘somehow lingered.’ Marina admits that she didn’t want to give the dog away quickly; it was more important that she be loved. Marina had no hopes when yet another call came from someone enchanted by photos of Malvina on social media.

But one day everything came together: the friendly Malvina was noticed by those who, after serious thought, would later take her home. Marina took the dog with her to an event.

‘Olya Abantseva invited me to a charity event — the birthday of Inna Shamray, founder of a private school. And, of course, I had no question about who to take — Malvina,’ says Marina.

Before this, Marina notes, Yelena Berdnikova had not brought her daughter to events, but by chance, Sasha went with her. As the nine-year-old Krasnoyarsk resident recalls, she spent the whole meeting with Malvina and realized she wouldn’t go home without her.

Before this, Sasha says, she had asked her parents to get a dog, but they refused because Yelena was convinced she didn’t like dogs and was a cat person. However, she had to revisit that conversation after meeting Malvina.

‘They started debating: take her or not, let’s call your dad (Yelena Berdnikova’s husband — Spartak — Ed.) And I said: “Tell you what: I could persuade you now, but no. Sleep on it, talk to dad.” Of course, I wanted to give Malvina away, but when you’ve been with a dog for so many years, of course you worry about her,’ says Marina.

The next day, the family was sure — they would come back for Malvina and take her into the family.

‘I’m driving to the shelter, I needed to drop something off, and Lena texts me: “Marina, we’ve decided, when can we come?” I say: “Lena, I’m on my way to the shelter right now,”’ she recalls.

There were fears and doubts; handing over the dog to a new family was very emotional.

‘When we put her (Malvina — Ed.) in the car, Lena and I hugged and just cried. I remember she says: “I’m afraid we won’t manage,” I say: “And I’m afraid you won’t manage.” And that honesty encouraged me,’ says Marina.

‘It Was Clear Who Was the Boss in the House’

Now Malvina has been in the family for five months, surrounded by love and care. Each family member loves her differently: Yelena can sit and stroke her for hours in the evening, Sasha secretly wants the dog to sleep on her bed, and the head of the family, Spartak, takes Malvina on long walks and brings her along when he goes hunting.

Malvina herself accepted the family immediately. Maybe it’s because Yelena had already seen her in 2022, or maybe because the dog is open to the world and people, but her stress lasted only the first two days; then the dog settled into her new home.

‘She accepted us right away; it wasn’t like she ran away from us, growled, or anything. So those two days were probably the hardest for her, not even for us. Then everything was fine,’ recalls Yelena.

Despite her ‘advanced’ age, Malvina doesn’t let the family relax: once during a walk she ran away from Otdykha Island and came home on her own. The dog covered a distance of about 2.5 kilometers. During her escape she was hit by a taxi, but without serious injuries. Malvina is a freedom-loving dog.

‘She sometimes even slips out of her collar. For example, she doesn’t like being tied up outside a store,’ says Yelena.

Moreover, Malvina acts up not only outside but also at home. Especially when the owners are not home. She systematically breaks the rules — lying on the bed or couch, even if her paws aren’t the cleanest.

‘Once we didn’t properly wash her paws after a walk. I come home, forgot to make the bed, and on my white sheet there were very good paw prints. It was clear who was the boss in the house,’ recalls Yelena.

Additionally, Malvina ‘digs into’ the household members — she begs and may even bark a little to earn a treat. By the way, she knows only a few commands — sit, give paw, and lie down, but she refuses to perform tricks without ‘currency.’

‘There was a funny incident when we ordered a lot of different jewelry, and some came in suede pouches. Malvina jumps onto the couch and starts examining the jewelry as if. I think: “Oh, come on, that’s something! A girl dog. Did she start reacting to trinkets?” But what she really liked were the suede pouches,’ says Yelena.

Another expression of love in their family: Spartak prepares a special soup for Malvina with meat, beets, potatoes, and zucchini.

‘But she still loves to beg. My husband is categorically against her being in the kitchen, and that’s the right approach, but Sasha and I sometimes give her treats,’ admits Yelena.

There are also consequences of adult age — sometimes Malvina suffers from incontinence. That is probably the reason why she is walked as often as possible.

‘They say that older spayed dogs have this problem. We give her medication, but it doesn’t help much. We were told we need to order it from abroad. We’re thinking about when we travel to buy some for her,’ admits Yelena.

No one in the family regrets taking an older dog and giving her a life in a full family.

‘This attitude — feeling sorry for yourself, avoiding negativity and depriving yourself of positivity — I think it’s very stupid and selfish. You haven’t considered how much happiness you can give a dog in her short dog life, and how much happiness and emotions she will give you,’ says Yelena.

Earlier, NGS24.RU reported on an even more famous dog, and a blue-blooded one at that — the German shepherd Yermak, who not only had a guest role in the popular series ‘Ronin’ but even had his own show on Channel One. Read more.