Gerda and Mira
A story told by Tetiana Polozhentseva, owner of the Star Escort kennel.
Tetiana’s daughter had grown up surrounded by dogs, but at that time her husband was firmly against having animals in the apartment.
He was building a house, already had enough to worry about, and believed that a dog was the last thing the family needed just then.
But someone who has grown up with dogs finds it hard to get used to a home without them.
And Tetiana’s daughter missed having a dog beside her terribly.
One day she came to visit her mother.
Gerda was there.
Small, only four months old.
Tetiana’s daughter looked at her and said simply:
“She’s mine.”
Her husband resisted for a long time.
But sometimes some decisions seem to have been made before everyone else realises it.
Eventually, he gave in.
And so Gerda left for her new home.
At that time, she was four months old.
And the mother-to-be was four months pregnant.
So Gerda joined the family before Mira was even born.
As if she had been waiting for her.
Then Mira arrived.
And the two began to grow up side by side.
One — a little girl.
The other — a Caucasian Shepherd Dog who would, in time, become a show dog and a champion.
But at home, nobody cared very much about her titles.
There, Gerda had another job.
She stayed close to Mira.
She watched over her.
She kept an eye on her.
They trusted Gerda with the baby’s stroller without worry.
When Mira slept, the dog stayed nearby.
If the baby began to cry, Gerda would come up to the stroller.
Nudge it.
Rock it gently.
And sometimes that was enough.
Mira would settle.
But if the crying did not stop, Gerda understood that this time she could not manage on her own.
Then she alerted the adults.
No one had taught her how to be a nanny.
No one had explained when the child simply needed soothing and when her mother needed to be called.
She simply lived beside Mira.
Watched her.
And knew.
Photographs remain from those years.
Mira beside Gerda.
Mira on Gerda.
Gerda by the stroller.
Outside.
At home.
Not scenes arranged for the camera.
Not special moments created for a photograph.
Simply their life.
Day after day.
Gerda was a champion in the show ring.
But to one little girl she was something far more.
She was part of her childhood.
Gerda and the Fire
When you live with large dogs, not every neighbour is always pleased.
Sometimes they complained.
Mostly about the barking.
But Tetiana says:
“Dogs do not always bark without a reason.”
One night, Gerda began behaving strangely.
She could not settle.
She kept asking to go outside.
At first, they could not understand what was wrong with her.
But Gerda insisted.
Again and again.
Eventually, they let her out.
The moment she went outside, she rushed towards the neighbouring house.
A fire was already taking hold there.
The people had not yet understood what was happening.
Gerda had.
According to Tetiana, it was Gerda’s reaction that helped warn the neighbours in time.
The same neighbours who sometimes complained about the dogs barking.
That night, the barking was no longer noise.
It was a warning.
Gerda helped save the entire family.
And the danger may not have been limited to one house.
Had the fire spread, it could have reached the neighbouring homes — including Tetiana’s home and her family.
Until then, Gerda had stood beside Mira’s stroller.
Nudged it when the child cried.
Guarded one little girl.
But that night, she guarded everyone.
The same dog.
The same character.
Only the task was different.
At home — the nanny.
On the night of the fire — the guardian.
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