The story of Dżok that has gone down in legend as a dog-symbol of fidelity, began with a great tragedy that this friendly doggy experienced. It all happened in the summer of 1991, when Dżok was crossing the Grunwaldzkie roundabout in Krakow, which is famous for its heavy traffic. A friendly, not too big dog with snappy ears. Back then, he did not do it alone - he had his beloved guardian, an elderly gentleman. This man, however, no longer crossed the roundabout and never made it to where he had planned to go with the doggy - he suffered a heart attack.
Witnesses to his collapse immediately called an ambulance and attended to him - the ambulance took the elderly man away, but the poor doggy was violently chased away. His owner, on the other hand, died while still in the ambulance, despite the help given to him.
For a long time, Dżok could not understand what had happened. He ran around the neighbourhood confused, terrified and completely unable to understand what had happened and why his master had suddenly disappeared, and he was left alone. At the time, no one was interested in him - drivers chased him away and cursed him.
The dog, however, persisted at the roundabout. Sad, abandoned and confused - but with the full belief that his master would still come back for him. After a few days, people took an interest in him - but all attempts to catch him and take him to the shelter failed, as he perfectly avoided being caught.
As time went on, he began to enjoy the increasing affection of the local people - they fed him, left him water and helped him to survive the harsh weather conditions. They also gave him the name by which he is known to this day. Dżok stuck around the roundabout, regardless of the weather conditions - heat, rain, thunderstorms and frosts could not chase him away.
After a year, he went to live with Mrs Maria - an old lady who already had her own dog, Kajtek, but who developed a fondness for Dżok and slowly, day by day, tamed him and finally gave him a warm home. This could have been the end of this legend of canine fidelity, but it was not - Dżok lived together with Kajtek and Mrs Maria for six consecutive years. In 1998, however, Mrs Maria died and Kajtek and Dżok ended up in a shelter.
The doggy couldn’t stand it - he dug a hole under the fence and ran away. Unfortunately, his escape ended tragically - he was killed by a train. Some believe that he consciously ended his life in this way so that he would never again suffer the loss of his beloved human.
A statue of the dog Dżok was erected in the place where he stayed, waiting for the return of his master who had died. The town was initially reluctant to do so, but the strenuous efforts of the citizens who loved the legend of Dżok and the support of famous artists resulted in Dżok being commemorated.
The dog has also been commemorated in mass culture - “Dżok: The legend of dog fidelity”, is a book written by Barbara Gawryluk and just one of several examples of works that have been created in honour of Dżok.
The inscription on the monument (in Polish and English) reads:
Dżok, the dog.
The most faithful canine friend ever, epitomising a dog’s boundless devotion to his master. Throughout the entire year /1990–1991/ Dżok was seen waiting in vain at the Grunwaldzkie roundabout to be fetched back by his master, who had passed away at the very site.