For two days straight, the dog barked in front of the same apartment building.
No one paid attention at first — people assumed he was just hungry or lost.
But every time someone tried to move him away, he ran back to the same spot, staring up at one particular balcony and barking louder.
Finally, one neighbor, an elderly man named Pavel, decided to check.
When he stepped closer, he heard a faint sound coming from above — something like a weak cry.
Looking up, he noticed movement behind the half-closed balcony door.
The curtains shifted.
He immediately called the police and rescue services.
When firefighters arrived and forced the door open, everyone froze.
Inside the apartment, they found a little boy — barely four years old — sitting on the floor, weak and dehydrated.
He had been alone for two days.
His parents had gone out of town, leaving him locked inside, thinking a neighbor would check in.
But the neighbor never came.
The dog — a stray that the boy used to feed every morning — had sensed something was wrong and refused to leave.
As soon as the rescuers carried the boy outside, the dog ran to him, wagging his tail, whining softly.
The boy whispered, “That’s my friend Max…” and hugged him tightly.
Everyone watching had tears in their eyes.
The officers decided to take Max to the shelter for the night, but the crowd protested.
By morning, the story had spread.
Donations poured in for both the boy and his loyal guardian.
And when the boy recovered, the first thing he asked was,
“Can Max come home now?”
He did — and from that day on, Max never spent another night alone.
