Lately most news involving international relations has been the complete opposite of adorable, but today Russia (Russia!) shook things up by giving France a puppy. Dobrynya, a German shepherd, will replace Diesel, the police dog killed when French special forces raided an apartment in Saint-Denis following the terrorist attacks in Paris last month. The puppy is named after a hero from Russian folklore known for his “strength, love, courage and self-sacrifice,” according to Politico.
As Dobrynya was presented during a ceremony in Moscow on Monday, Jean-Maurice Ripert, France’s ambassador to Russia, said it’s “a gesture that comes from the heart.”
Let’s briefly tune out the heinous circumstances surrounding this moment, and enjoy this footage of Dobrynya being a good puppy: