No matter how tense the Cold War situation is, no matter how fierce the space race is, even enemies will unite because of their love for dogs. An example of this is the story of Pushkar, the puppy of the famous dog astronaut Stryka, who lived happily with the Kennedys.
In June 1961, John F. Kennedy wrote to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, "Dear Mr. Chairman... Kennedy and I were particularly pleased to receive "Pushka". 'Her flight from the Soviet Union to the United States was not as compelling as her mother's flight. However, it was a long voyage and she persevered well."
Pushkar's mother is the world The famous dog astronaut Strica. In 1960, Strelka and her companion Belka flew into space together. Belka and Stryka became the first creatures to successfully travel to and from space and became national heroes of the Soviet Union.
Belka and Stryka are ordinary stray dogs found on the street, of course they are not purebred dogs of any kind. Their lives are not easy: they are cold and hungry... It is natural for them to adapt to different environments. The scientist Adilia Kotovskaya, who works with , in an interview Explained in. After an amazing journey, they became ordinary dogs. Streca gave birth to six puppies, one of which was given to Kennedy.
Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, who served as the US ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017, recalls that it was her mother Jacqueline Kennedy that contributed to all this, albeit unintentionally. The BBC quoted Caroline Kennedy as saying: "At a state banquet in Vienna, she was sitting next to Khrushchev... She had nothing to say, so she asked about Stryka’s puppy. ."
A few months later, Khrushchev sent one of the puppies named Pushkar to the White House.Khrushchev is sometimes quite generous and polite. After all, this dog is also completely white and furry. Pushkar means Maomao in Russian.
This is very special, as if they were transporting a prince. This is Kotovskaya's recall of sending Pushka from her laboratory to the American Embassy. A large Soviet-American delegation secretly took Pushkar and transferred her to Washington, DC. In short, this is a matter of national importance.
CIA inspected Pushkar at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for fear that she might have hidden the implanted monitoring device. Pushkar underwent an x-ray examination, screened with a magnetometer, and checked with ultrasound . No devices were found on her.
The Kennedys love dogs, and Pushkar joined the other four dogs in their family—Wolf, Clipper, Charlie and Shannon. As the offspring of a mongrel, she certainly has no language barriers. The president's family, especially the children, soon fell in love with her.
When speaking at Kennedy Presidential Library, the White House employee who took care of the dog from time to time, Trapps L. Bryant, recalled the scene when Pushkar arrived. John said: "Bryan Special, let's take Pushkar to Dad's room." I said, "John, you can. I can't (because the president is in his private room). John took Pushkar to his room." So this one The dog met the president immediately after arriving.
There is a strange story about the meeting between Caroline Kennedy and Pushkar, who was four years old at the time. This story is related to David Hyman, the author of "American Heritage: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy", who is Caroline's nanny. When they first met, Pushkar barked when Caroline reached out to pet the dog. Heyman wrote: “Caroline did not flinch, but walked behind the dog and quickly kicked it in the ass.” When learning about the accident, Kennedy said with a smile."This is for those damn Russians."
Of course, this is just a joke, Pushkar has lived happily in the White House ever since. Caroline kicked the Soviet dog with a kick and seemed to like it very much. According to Bryant, she had warned him not to feed Pushkar peanuts because "the vet said it was not good for Pushkar." So, the peaceful coexistence of superpowers is true—at least for this dog. so.
Kobe recalled: "The president will ask me a lot of questions." "How long does it take for the cubs to close their eyes?" When will they eat solid food?. . . Will they have short hair or long hair?"
Another presidential pet dog named Charlie also showed a keen interest in Pushkar. Later, Charlie and Pushkar gave birth to puppies, about 5000 people wrote to the White House asking if they could own one. Two of the puppies were actually given to children living in the Midwest, while the other two puppies were eventually given to the Kennedys’ personal friends.
So, even now Kennedy, Khrushchev and Pushkar are no longer there, many descendants of the Soviet space dog are still running and playing somewhere in the United States. (Mi Tan Tian Xia/Zhang Mi)
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