newfoundland
© Tabuldu Kadyurbekov, RIA Novosti
A Kyrgyz schoolgirl received a 6-month-old Newfoundland puppy from the Russian President as a gift. She had asked him for the animal in an email during the annual Direct Line on April 16, 2015.

Dasha Yaitskaya said she wanted a dog of that exact breed. There were none in Kyrgyzstan, and it was impossible for her family to bring such a pooch from abroad.

"That's true! We received a letter addressed to the president from the girl, saying her family couldn't afford to buy the dog," the president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Thursday.

The girl's parents weren't aware that their daughter had written to the president about her wish and were surprised to see the puppy. They nevertheless extended a warm welcome to the new family member.

newfoundland
© Tabuldu Kadyurbekov, RIA Novosti
The dog was bred in a nursery in neighboring Kazakhstan, and was handed to the schoolgirl by the Russian ambassador in the Kyrgyz Republic, Andrey Krutko.

Dasha says she once saw a picture of Vladimir Putin with a dog and assumed he loved animals. She had always dreamed of owning a Newfoundland and now her dream has come true, according to TASS.
newfoundland
© Tabuldu Kadyurbekov, RIA Novosti
Even though the puppy had already been named Max, the schoolgirl decided to give him another name: Dar, which means "gift".

Vladimir Putin is known for his love for animals and this is not the first gift of this kind from the Russian leader. In June, he sent a Labrador puppy to a girl in Tula. The region's governor personally handed the dog over to her.
newfoundland
© Tabuldu Kadyurbekov, RIA Novosti