lisette, the dog who changed peter the great's mind

thanks karenswhimsy.com (PD)

In which Peter the Great is moved to mercy when his beloved dog is roped in to intercede:
* * *

. . . Among the powers that were, who had their pets, Peter the Great must be included -- the Czar whose evil-tempered monkey was a terror to all the attendants at court, obliged as they were to endure without resenting its malice. A much more agreeable favorite was Lisette, an Italian greyhound presented to Peter by the Sultan. Once she saved a life, and her Victoria Cross is the record in history of this achievement. A poor fellow had been condemned, for some small error, to the knout. All intercession had failed, and the hour of execution was at hand, when his friends bethought them of fastening a petition to Lisette's collar and sending her with it to the Czar. This was done, and what he had refused to his loyal subjects he granted to little Lisette. Not without reason is the skeleton of this timely advocate still preserved in the city where she lived!

--- From Lewis, E. (1892). Famous pets of famous people. Boston: D. Lothrop Company. 83-84.  As it happens, Lisette - along with a horse also named Lisette, and another royal dog named Tirana - are still present at the Zoological Museum in St. Petersberg, though rather inexpertly taxidermied.  You can see them in this blog post, halfway down the page.  That post also tells me they're on the Facebook page of Badly Stuffed Animals...somewhere.