Moscow’s stray dogs
A bronze statue of stray dog, paid for by donations, stands at the entrance of Mendeleyevskaya station. Dog made this station its own home, but one day was killed by one of psychotic passengers. It has become a symbol for the 35,000 stray dogs that roam Russia’s capital – about 84 dogs per square mile. You see them everywhere. They lie around in the courtyards of apartment complexes, wander near markets and kiosks, and sleep inside metro stations and pedestrian passageways. You can hear them barking and howling at night
I moved to Moscow with my family last year and was startled to see so many stray dogs. Watching them over time, I realised that, despite some variation in colour – they all shared a certain look. Every so often, you would see one waiting on a metro platform. When the train pulled up, the dog would step in, scramble up to lie on a seat or sit on the floor if the carriage was crowded, and then exit a few stops later. These are Moscow’s metro dogs. The metro dog appeared for the simple reason that it was permitted to enter. This began in the late 1980s during perestroika. When more food appeared, people began to live better and feed strays. by Susanne Sternthal
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