Meet Pushinka. Pushinka was a gift to JFK from Nikita Krushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. According to BBC , Pushinka's mother was the dog Strelka, who was sent into space. ( Yes, that's a thing that happened .)Thanking Krushchev for the dog, Kennedy wrote, "Mrs. Kennedy and I were pleased to receive Pushinka. Her flight from the Soviet Union to the United States was not as dramatic as the flight of her mother, nevertheless, she stood it well."We should all be more like Pushinka. Nevertheless, we stand it well.