This is an old article, but I thought it was still interesting.
The Life of Subway Dogs...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With children the dogs “play cute” by
putting their heads on youngsters’ knees and staring pleadingly into their eyes
to win sympathy – and scraps.
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.
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.
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.
The dogs also don't leave messes laying
around where someone can step in them, and they relieve themselves 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.
