šale, a man whose life has been shaped by dogs

Even today there are not many children in our country who grow up with pets, and there are even fewer families in which those pets are seen as equal members. Radenko Šale Radovanović was lucky enough to be an exception: a childhood spent with his sisters and brothers, but also with dogs who were loved just as much, was something truly out of the ordinary in Kraljevo almost seventy years ago, when he was born. The way he was raised from an early age is the way he has lived his whole life, and he is especially proud that he is not the only one: his sister and his brother also have pets. Šale's life has been shaped by many dogs which, as he himself says, he loved just as much as he loves his daughter and his two sons. He had a Brittany that was stolen from him and taken to Kragujevac. That dog ran away from its new home, made its own way back to Kraljevo and jumped through the open window of the car Šale was driving along the street that leads out onto the road to that neighbouring town. Then, and many times before and since, Šale has found himself in exactly the place where some animal needed help. Every stray dog in our town recognises the sound of his taxi, and many owned dogs know it too and are just as happy to see him. In the boot he always has bags full of kibble, as well as a blanket he puts on the seat when he transports injured animals. He has never refused to drive a dog to the vet or to a new home, and there are countless little stories that go with those adventures (my dog, for example, pooped on him, practically down his neck, because what he loves most is riding along sitting on Šale's back). Šale and his wife live in rented accommodation, but despite that they have four mixed-breed dogs with whom they share everything they have. Those dogs are sterilised and a little heavier than they really should be, because the one thing Šale can no longer do is take them for walks along the river as he did for years.

Author: Jovanka Petrović