[Arkady]

It's a bit too much still. The bright areas have lost all the detail and in trying to bring out the shadow detail in the animal you've only served to highlight the crumminess of the print you're trying to work from. This is a good image - don't get me wrong, but working from this print, you're on a hiding to nothing.
The problem you're having is that you're working from scanned prints, which have lost much of the information contained on the negatives. Your 'processed' image here lacks any detail in the shadow areas and has lost detail in the sky - all recoverable from the negative, as I know from experience that the information will be there, it's just how to get it out - it's the difference between a machine print from your local Happy Snaps shop, or a hand-made print by an expert printer. You'd be amazed at the difference it makes. Trying to work from a lack-luster print makes the whole learning process so much more difficult as the information you need to make a good image is already lost to you.
To really see what's achievable in Photoshop, you need to go back to the source - in your case the original negs. Tha's why I suggested buying a film scanner rather than a DSLR. That way you still have access to all the(possibly great) images you already own, rather than starting all over with a digital camera.