Moscow subway dogs

[Bob]

The elite of Moscow’s 35,000 stray dogs are about 500 Russian dogs constantly living in the Moscow subway (Metro). About 50 of subway dogs have learned to ride the trains, commuting from quiet suburbs

stations where they spend the night to downtown where it’s easier to get some food.

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Each morning, like clockwork, they board the subway, off to begin their daily routine amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. But these aren't just any daily commuters. These are stray dogs who live in the outskirts of Moscow Russia and commute on the underground trains to and from the city centre in search of food scraps.
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Then after a hard day scavenging and begging on the streets, they hop back on the train and return to the suburbs where they spend the night.
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Living in the subway is just a survival tactic the Moscow stray dogs have come up with. The subway dogs have figured out how to use the city’s huge and complicated subway system, getting on and off
at the stops they need. They recognize the desired station by smell, by recorded announcer’s voice, and by time intervals basing on their biological clocks. Usually they ride first or last car to keep away from crushes.
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Experts studying the dogs, who usually choose the quietest carriages at the front and back of the train, say they even work together to make sure they get off at the right stop – after learning to judge the length of time they need to spend on the train.
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In Soviet times stray dogs were barred from subway. Today Moscow Metro’s passengers are so accustomed to dogs on subway – sleeping on empty seats and hanging around stations – that they do not pay any attention.
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For these strays the Moscow Metro is their home. The subway dogs get outside to do all their deeds and behave friendly to the passengers. They have very good instincts about people, greeting happily kind passengers and avoiding contacts with intolerant. And
they always find somebody who will share food with them.
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With children the dogs “play cute” by putting their heads on youngsters’ knees and staring pleadingly into their eyes to win sympathy – and scraps.
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Dogs are opportunistic and intelligent, and when they figured out they were no longer chased away from the subway stations, they began hopping trains for a lift into the city. The Moscow subway system is a maze that can be confusing for people, but the dogs
appear to have learned the system.
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Once in the city, the dogs have their own special ways of getting food. Some position themselves outside butcher shops and wait for dog lovers coming out of the shop to toss them a bone. Others have refined a technique of sneaking up behind people who are
eating food and surprising them with a loud bark which hopefully scares the person into dropping whatever they’re eating. If the dog is successful in getting the person to drop their food, he grabs his prize and runs.
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Packs of stray dogs are led not by the strongest or most dominant member, but by the most intelligent dog in the pack. The dogs understand living among people in a large city requires brains and not muscle to survive. Researchers have observed dog packs
selecting pack members that are smaller and cuter than the other ones who are then sent out to beg for food.
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The dogs also don’t leave messes laying around where someone can step in them, and they relieve them-selves in out-of-the-way spots away from the main traffic areas. The subway riding stray dogs of Moscow have essentially learned how to interact with
people and move among them in order to survive.
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[Redrose]

That is very sad, but at least these examples don't look malnourished. Fortunately for the dogs, they are not is SE Asia, where they would end up being eaten.

[Common Sense]

That is very sad, but at least these examples don't look malnourished. Fortunately for the dogs, they are not is SE Asia, where they would end up being eaten.

They don't eat "street dogs" in SE Asia. They breed specific dogs for food.

It's horrible and disgusting none the less.

I always feel bad for street dogs.

[Bob]

I wonder if dog tastes like Chicken or snake?

[Redrose]

They don't eat "street dogs" in SE Asia. They breed specific dogs for food.

It's horrible and disgusting none the less.

I always feel bad for street dogs.


Not true. My nail tech is from Viet Nam, the people in the country, not the city, eat "anything". He said they eat dogs, cats, bugs, worms, birds, snakes, grubs, insects, dirt, leaves, anything. I asked about diseases, he said, they don't care, the animal could be rabid, they eat it. He said they are starving and will eat anything. He was an adult when he came here. He's only 45 now. His family is still there. Some in the city and many, many in the countryside. They can't come here, it's a Communist country. He was allowed because his father was an American soldier.

There is no medical care. If you get hurt, you let it heal, as is. If you get an infection, you die. They bury you out in the fields. If you work in the fields and die, they bury you there. There is no police oversight, if you disappear, and maybe someone murdered you, no one cares. They pee and poop outside in the dirt, not far from where they sleep. They cook outside on wood fires. Water is filthy. No refrigeration. No shoes, no underwear, usually no shirts on the boys, even little girls, just shorts. They go out side in the am and stay out until dark to fend for themselves, find anything to eat, or catch to bring home to cook. No schooling. This is today's VN in the countryside.