Back in 2021, Viktoria Zarubina left for school around 1 pm, but never came home. So her mother Tatyana called the police as a snowstorm dumped 2 feet of snow on Uglegorsk. The town on the Russian island of Sakhalin, north of Japan, is known for brutally cold winters with temperatures as low as -11C.
Local authorities appealed for volunteers to help with the search. Then, for over 12 hours, some 40 people searched for the 10-year-old, calling her name. However, visibility was very low, and they didn’t find her that night.
Uglegorsk
Searchers scoured the area all night, looking in yards and alleys and questioning neighbors. Then, one witness said they remembered seeing Viktoria playing with a stay dog near an apartment building. There, locals had put out a mattress, so the stay dogs had somewhere to sleep.
A search party volunteer, Anatoly Ivanov, told the local news:
“We were looking all night, nothing was visible at all, our hands in mittens were so cold, it was difficult to straighten our fingers,” he said. “By morning, we started to think she would not be found alive. How can you survive such a nightmare outside?”
Uglegorsk
Although things looked grim for Viktoria, she miraculously survived thanks to a fluffy stray dog. So far, we don’t know what the dog looks like but the Siberian Times shared the image below.
Stray dog, Images: social media/ The Siberian Times
Found After 18 Hours Missing
Early in the morning, and 18 hours after Viktoria’s mom reported her missing, searchers found her near where the witness had seen her. It was only about 500 yards from her house.
She was playing with a dog when the snowstorm came and crawled under a sheltered balcony. There, she huddled, clinging to the shaggy dog for warmth all night. No doubt, the dog’s comfort and warmth, as well as the shelter, saved her life.
“The fact that the girl remained alive in such weather really is a miracle,” Ivanov said.
“Fortunately, everything turned out to be all right with the girl,” a spokesperson from Uglegorsk police said.
Viktoria Zarubina with mom, Tatyana
Fortunately, temperatures remained relatively mild at 23F that night, and she was wearing warm winter clothing. Under the balcony with the cuddly dog, Viktoria avoided the worst of the freezing temperatures.
From there, Viktoria went to the hospital with a mild case of frostbite. Otherwise, she was fine. Her mother was happily reunited with her daughter at the hospital, and they returned home the same day.
Viktoria Zarubina
Honoring the Dog Who Saved Viktoria
After rescuers found Viktoria, the stray dog wandered away. However, The Mirror reports plans to honor the dog if they find it.
Hopefully, the dog and the other strays will find forever homes and a warm fluffy bed to enjoy!
Featured images: Screenshots via YouTube/ Dog by GPoulsen via Pixabay, Pixabay License
