In honor of the 80th anniversary of Sergey Dovlatov’s birth, the beloved dog of the writer, Glafira, whom he fondly mentions in his works, was immortalized in Saint Petersburg. A monument to the fox terrier Glafira, or Glafuriya as she was called by her family, appeared in the Dovlatov square on Zagorodny Prospect.

Sculptor Vyacheslav Bukhaev came up with a very original version of the monument. It is a flat iron rectangle. The artist cut out the silhouette of the dog in it.

“I decided to take a metal sheet about one meter by one meter, cut out the silhouette of the fox terrier; the sun will shine through Glasha’s outline. Although Glafira is a girl, she will lift her leg. Some female dogs do that, I have seen it myself. The flat format of the monument to Glafira personally seems more appropriate for the square and more modern to me.”

The dog Glafira is surrounded by quotes from her owner’s works: “Solo on the Underwood,” “The Reserve.” The date of the monument’s installation is indicated below.

After the sculptor cut out Glafuriya’s silhouette on the iron rectangle, he was left with the figure of the dog. It was decided that the dog should be near her owner. Therefore, Glasha’s figure was installed next to the monument to Sergey Donatovich on Rubinstein Street. The element was fixed with several screws and super-strong glue.

The writer brought Glasha home when she was still a puppy and fit in the palm of his hand. “Her coloring resembled a birch log. Her nose was a tiny boxing glove... In short, Glasha was irresistible.” All family members grew very fond of the smart, brave, and intelligent dog, who over time became practically a relative to them.

This is how Sergey Dovlatov wrote about his beloved in the novel “Ours,” who lived in his house for seventeen years:

“With each year, she looks more and more like a person. (And you can’t say that about every friend.) When she is nearby, I already feel shy changing clothes. My friend Sevostyanov says: ‘She is the only normal member of your family.’

Until about a year old, she seemed like a normal ordinary dog. She chewed our shoes. Begged for scraps. We raised her rather inattentively. Fed her whatever was available. Walked her morning and evening for about ten minutes. No ‘Give paw,’ no ‘Tubo’ or ‘Fas!’ But we talked with her for a long time. Me, my mother, my wife. And then my daughter, when she learned to talk herself...”

Glasha is a dog about whom it can confidently be said that thanks to her birth, many brilliant works appeared.

The well-known semiotician and gender issues specialist M. Zolotonosov criticized the monument to the dog Glasha. Zolotonosov claims that the dog depicted on the memorial sign is not a female but a transgender animal. She urinates by lifting her leg, which is a prerogative of male dogs.

Meanwhile, before installing the memorial sign depicting Glafira, its author Vyacheslav Bukhaev contacted the writer’s widow, and she confirmed the fact that Glasha occasionally relieved herself in a way that was non-standard for her gender.

In a chat of fox terrier owners, whose dogs annually participate in the fox terrier parade during “D Day,” the owner of a dog named Lusha posted a photo confirming that a female fox terrier can relieve herself in any way convenient to her, although not usual for traditionalists.

Even if, according to Mikhail Zolotonosov’s claim, instead of the silhouette of Glasha the fox terrier, a memorial sign “transgender fox terrier Glasha” appeared in Petersburg, it would only further emphasize the progressive attitude of Petersburgers toward today’s global agenda.

Sources:

https://gorod-812.ru/o-tom-kak-mochilas-sobaka-dovlatova-otvet-mihailu-zolotonosovu/

Authors: Anastasia Printseva, Lev Lurye

https://vk.com/@ruskynologfed-interesnyi-fakt-pamyatnik-fokstereru-glashe-lubimice-sergeya