There is an unusual monument in the garden of the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg. The statue depicts a dog, and the bas-reliefs on the pedestal represent moments of scientific research related to this animal.
The eminent Russian physiologist I. P. Pavlov, who investigated the mechanisms of nervous activity in experiments on dogs.
The monument to I. Pavlov's dog is the most famous, but not the only one, erected in honor of the animal. A similar monument exists in Novosibirsk near the Institute of Cytology and Genetics. The statue depicts another animal that has served scientists a lot: a laboratory mouse knits a DNA helix on knitting needles. On the territory of the Research Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy in Sukhumi (Abkhazia), a monument was erected to another popular experimental animal - a monkey. A list of diseases that medicine was able to defeat thanks to experiments on primates is carved on the pedestal.
Human helpers
Animals help people not only in scientific research, but also in other areas of human activity.
On the border of the Stavropol Territory and the Republic of Kalmykia, there is a statue of a shepherd with a dog, and in the Cherkassy region (Ukraine) - a monument to border guards and service dogs. There is a memorial "Animals at War" in London. Bas-reliefs and bronze figures depict horses, mules, camels, dogs, pigeons, elephants and even a cat.
The monument to the cotton weevil erected in the state of Alabama (USA) is surprising. However, this pest helped one American farmer who lived in the early 20th century. Desperate to cope with the weevil invasion, he gave up growing cotton in favor of peanuts. Growing peanuts turned out to be much more profitable, the farmer became rich, like many fellow countrymen who followed his example.
History and legends
Many monuments to animals are associated with historical events and what is called "legendary history." The most famous monument of this kind is the Capitoline Wolf in Rome. The statue depicts a she-wolf and babies Romulus and Remus - the founders of Rome, who, according to legend, were fed by a she-wolf.
This statue was probably seen by Heinrich Leo, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, participating in the Italian campaign of Frederick Barbarossa. He ordered the installation of a gilded bronze lion statue in the city of Braunschweig, symbolizing the greatness of power.
The monument to the Kazan cat in Kazan is also associated with a royal person. Noticing that there are no mice in Kazan, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to bring 30 cats from this city to destroy rodents in the Winter Palace.
Monuments to specific animals
Monuments are erected not only to animals in general, but also to certain “friends of man” who have distinguished themselves in some way, first of all, in their loyalty to people. There are many monuments to dogs that remained loyal to their owners even after their death: a monument to the dog Dzhok in Krakow (Poland), Greyfires Bobby in Edinburgh (Scotland), a Monument of devotion in Togliatti.
It happens that animals perform feats on a par with people. In New York City's Central Park, stands a monument to Balto, a sled dog that helped transport medicines during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic in Alaska. Monument "We have won!" in Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan region) immortalized the memory of the soldiers of the 902th rifle regiment and their camel assistants.
Fictional animals
Literary, cinematic and folklore heroes sometimes mean no less to people than those who really existed. This also applies to animals.
In Voronezh there is a monument to White Bim - the hero of G. Troepolsky's story. In the city of Ramenskoye (Moscow region) there are monuments to the Wolf from the cartoon "Well, you wait!" and the three heroes of A. Milne's book "Winnie the Pooh and All, All, All" - Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore. In Voronezh there is a monument to the kitten Vasily from Lizyukov Street - the hero of the cartoon of the same name.
Small genres of folklore - proverbs and sayings - were not ignored either. This is how the Horse in a Coat (Sochi) and the Tambov Wolf (Tambov) were immortalized. And in Perm they decided to mock the well-known stereotype "Bears walk the streets in Russia" and erected a monument to the bear. However, the main meaning of the monument is nevertheless associated with the coat of arms of the city, which depicts a bear.
