Vets failed to save bullterrier who kept his master warm on cold nights as pair avoided attack by bears and wolves.
Tor underwent surgery and was in unstable condition for days afterwards; last night the dog died. Picture: Instagram
Vladimir Vinogradov, 65, from Kranosyarsk and his white dog Tor went missing in early October.
A hunt by the Emergencies Ministry and some 100 searchers failed to locate them, and they were given up for dead.
Rescuers spent three weeks checking 100 square kilometres of forest but believed it was impossible to survive for so long.
There were fears the pair had been attacked by wild animals.
But on 21 October Vladimir and his dog walked out of the forest close to the village of Kuskun some 54km east of Krasnoyarsk.
Viktor Vinogradov brought Tor to yhe clinic. Picture:KP
They were very thin and exhausted, but otherwise seemed well.
They survived by hugging each other and warming each other up in a hut made of fir tree branches.
Vladimir was drinking vegetable oil and chewed fir tree tar.
Luckily, Vladimir had a box of matches with him and managed to cook and catch mice for Tor to eat.
Yet the hunger was so strong that the bullterrier was chewing on owner’s coat and backpack.
Tor was checked by Krasnoyarsk vet and was diagnosed with intestinal obstruction.
He underwent surgery and was in unstable condition for days afterwards; last night the dog died.
![]() |
![]() |
Tatiana posted Tor's pics in her social media.
‘Tor is gone; doctors did all in their power but the miracle didn’t happen’, Vladimir’s daughter Tatiana posted on her social networks.
People in Krasnoyarsk who helped with searches and worried for the man and his dog went to social media to express condolences.
‘Really lost for words to support you and express our heartfelt condolences. Wishing you all to be strong. Thor was loved by everyone in your family, he knew it and was happy to be with you for as long as he could’, said one of the commentators.
Marina from Krasnoyarsk said in comment: ‘Your dog showed us yet again that dogs have hearts of gold. Thor stayed with your father all the way through their ordeal, he is a hero and will be remembered by all us’.
The hunger was so strong that the bullterrier was chewing on owner’s coat‘It is incredible that they managed to survive.
The pensioner told how the scariest moment was when they suddenly saw a mother bear and its cub.
‘I was frightened, for myself and Tor,’ he said.
‘I rushed at the dog, and covered him, clamping his mouth.
‘If he had started barking, the bear would have torn him apart.
‘Then it would have got me. But we happily escaped.’
He told how in the cold ‘we slept, hugging each other’ in a makeshift shelter he made of tree branches.
‘It was easier with (Tor) next to me.’
‘Tor is gone; doctors did all in their power but the miracle didn’t happen’
Archeologists discovered a new stone bracelet, two sharp pins, a marble ring and fox tooth pendants.
Comments (8)
But the harsh weather of Siberia also keeps many humans indoors, a lot. Homes are bigger now, better-equipped, and more comfortable to remained confine in. Thus, large companion dogs are becoming ever more-common, not 'even', but ESPECIALLY in regions with adverse weather.
The big deal here, though, is that Tor died not from being wimpy, but of an intestinal/bowel "obstruction". This is an all-too-common ailment for normal dogs, everywhere. Dogs eat 'junk' that often isn't even food ... and this can lead to a blockage in the digestive system. It's an emergency situation, and often fatal.
We know Tor was chew on clothing, because he was hungry; any cloth, thread ... rocks, sticks he gets down are all to the bad. Northern 'utility dogs', very rugged & well-adapted sled-dogs & village dogs, likewise are often bad 'chewers'. Most mushers don't allow team-dogs to wander or explore, in part for fear of them devouring pieces of rope, chewed-stick-fragments, 'Oh yum - a glove!'.
Ok - I'm old-school. I prefer dogs to be outside; like Karina Chikitova's little mutt (but check out the $1,000 fur-coat it wears!) - they let it in the house for certain photographs they wanted ... and it was plainly anxious because it knows it is not supposed to be inside! Cats too ... wut, I need to share the room with a poop-pee box? Eww.
Well, it's not right, Benedikt, is it? But what can we do... ;)
Bon rétablissement à Mr Vinogradov