Moscow’s Stray Subway Riding Dogs

InterestingShitPublished: June 28, 201730 views
Published: June 28, 2017

Dogs in Moscow have been making as much use of the public transport as their human counterparts. Since the collapse of the Soviets Union in 1990, the squads that used to handle the stray dog problems have retired, which brought the onslaught of stray dogs. However, these four legged citizens of the streets of Moscow have discovered that there is a safe and warm way to cross from one end of the city to the other, and that is to use the subway network. Not only do they get to travel faster than on foot, they occasionally receive a free meal and the benefit of human companionship.

Here you might ask yourself, how a dog knows on which station to take off. One expert says that doggy senses play the key role to their navigation skills. These dogs rely on the behavior of human passengers to know when to get off the train and the positive reinforcements, such as food and comfort.

There are roughly 35,000 stray dogs in Moscow, and about 20 of them have become regular commuters of the metro. These dogs have probable learned the activities that human commuters repeat daily, like peak rush hour, store openings and closings, and the nightly shutdown, and are encouraged by them.

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