Tsarevich Alexei and his dog Joy.

The day after the tragic death of the royal family, the guards at the Ipatiev house heard the howling and barking of a dog. It was Ortipo. Many locals had already begun to suspect that something terrible had happened. To avoid drawing attention, the guards killed Ortipo. Joy, on the other hand, quietly whined and scratched at the closed door, not barking or howling in front of people, so he was left alive. One of the guards, Mikhail Letemin, took pity on him and took him in.

A week later, when A.V. Kolchak's troops entered Yekaterinburg, one of the officers, who knew the royal family well, spotted Joy on the street. He began to inquire who the dog belonged to, and he was directed to Letemin. The guard was arrested, and he gave testimony to the investigation.

Joy was taken in by Pavel Rodzyanko in memory of his owner, the executed Tsarevich Alexei, who had not yet turned fourteen. Later, along with the retreating White Army, Colonel Rodzyanko made his way from Vladivostok to England. There, he was received by King George V, who listened to the story of the death of his relatives. Joy arrived with the colonel and remained living in the royal kennel. Subsequently, Joy was buried at Windsor Castle in the royal dog cemetery.