Pies Dzok – The Story of Abiding Loyalty

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130 – July, 2020

Text and illustrations by Ria Hörter

“Kraków is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic, economic, cultur-al, and artistic life. Cited as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, its Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” (Wikipedia)

Expressive Statue

Surfing the net, looking for dog statues, I came across “Top 10 Famous Loyal Dogs in the World” (worldtoptop.com/top-famous-loyal-dogs/). One of those famous loyal dogs – Ruswarp, the Border Collie in Garsdale (Cumbria, U.K.) – was featured in this series three years ago. The expressive statue of Dzok (pronounced Jock), a mixed-breed dog, is in Kraków, between the Grundwaldzkie Bridge over the Vistula River, and Wavel Royal Castle.

The dog’s owner suffered a heart attack one summer day in 1990. Either a motorist or a pedestrian – the stories vary – went to his aid, but he could not be resuscitated.

Dzok kept waiting for his master and could not understand that he would never return.

22 Degrees Below Zero

A cold winter followed a hot summer. While cars, buses, and trams drove around the roundabout, Dzok dug a hole to protect himself from the snow, frost, and frigid temperatures (around -22F). He scrounged for food in the garbage bin close to the bus stop, but he was getting thinner and dirtier. The local animal shelter tried to catch him but without success. In 1991, a Polish television station made a program about Dzok, and his portrait was on a magazine cover. People went to the roundabout to see him, but the dog was too shy to handle. In the end, only one woman could win his confidence. Accompanied by her own dog, Kajtek, Marii Müller drove to the roundabout several times a day, taking food for Dzok. Eventually, Dzok followed Marii and Kajtek home, where he lived for seven years. When Marii died in 1998, both dogs were taken to the animal shelter but not for long. Dzok dug under the fence and escaped. It wasn’t long before he was found dead on the tracks in Borek Falecki, only a few kilometers from the shelter.

He was buried near the animal shelter at Rybna Street 3.

Boundless Dedication

Click here to read the complete article
130 – July, 2020

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Posted by AnthonyA on Aug 6 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.