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Moscow Subway Is a K9 Kingdom

Stray dogs grow ever more comfortable with life in the capital

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted May 20, 2008 12:47 PM CDT

(Newser) – It's not only humans who get around the Russian capital by subway these days. Stray dogs are now a common sight on the Moscow metro, and, as the Wall Street Journal reports, their lives are pretty cushy. Muscovites are accustomed to seeing them lounging in stations, waiting for someone to toss a scrap, boarding trains, and curling up on an empty seat. 

In Soviet times dogs were banned from the subway, but now they're welcome, and they're so well fed by passengers they've lost that that "lean and hungry look," a stray expert tells the Journal. And it's only one example of how successfully a bigger-than-ever stray population has adapted to increasing prosperity in the city. "The dogs know Muscovites better than Muscovites know the dogs," he notes.

Commuters walk through Moscow's newest downtown metro station, Strogino, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008.
Commuters walk through Moscow's newest downtown metro station, Strogino, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
President Vladimir Putin pets his dog Koni before meetings with officials in his office in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Wednesday, March 3, 2004.
President Vladimir Putin pets his dog Koni before meetings with officials in his office in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Wednesday, March 3, 2004.   (AP Photo)
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.   ((c) akk_rus)
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.   ((c) akk_rus)
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.
A stray dog in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.   ((c) akk_rus)
Two stray dogs in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.
Two stray dogs in Moscow. Strays are an integral part of city life in the Russian capital.   ((c) akk_rus)
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