Metro Dogs

I started this blog a day or so ago after an experience reminded me that I wanted to write about the metro dogs we see every day here in Moscow.  I had a great article started but my laptop kept freezing up on me.  I know that hasn't ever happened to anyone else.

I was sitting with friends recently who asked me to put my thoughts down about what we encounter every time we ride the subway, well, nearly every time.  Metro Dogs! 

These dogs are a docile lot in general, we don't bother them and they don't bother us...in fact, they have that abused look in their eyes or simply a look which says that no human has ever touched them. 

Why write about dogs you ask?  Because they are a phenomenon.  It is something which actually stands out to all foreigners who come here.  One more of those things which you can't quite explain unless you see it.

We live a short walk from a metro stop, we always try to rent close so the boys can walk there when we're using the car.  There are tunnels filled with shops along the way to the entrance to the trains.  These tunnels are filled with every form of life you can imagine here in town.  There are beer bottles lined up against the walls where people stand after work for a brew, there are flower shops, snacks, phone cards, souvenirs and magazines with every sort of picture for all to see.

Next to the glass, swinging doors where the passengers exit to the city there is always a pile of dogs huddled together for warmth.  Sometimes there may be a homless person lying nearby.  It is a colorful place.  Oh, and there is always a few militionaires around to check the documents of anyone looking suspicious or to run off the peddlers selling their wares with no intentions of paying taxes on their earnings.

The dogs roam the halls inside and out of the metro area.  They hide behind the kiosk selling chebureki (meat pies) or run around the park in packs.  There is always a family group of dogs at our metro which are always mostly white in color.  They look hungry but they'll run from you instead of being aggressive. 

Once when Terri and I were riding the bus home from the metro a dog was calmly and properly sitting at the bus stop as we approached.  He promptly jumped up when the doors opened and came aboard.  Fido sat down like any other passenger would want to do on the bus and waited.  We came to the next stop, no movement.  The doors closed and we continued on to the next stop.  He sat there still.  We were all giggling at our fellow passenger when we came to the next stop when our mixed breed K-9 calmly stood up and made his way down the steps just like he knew this was his stop.  That picture will forever be etched in our memories.  I've seen them on the trains many times as well.

I was waiting at our metro stop two days ago for an associate who was coming to meet me.  I was happy to see a new dog face...It was the cutest little puppy I've seen in a while.  We recently had a family of kittens in our stairwell...it was hard not to take in the playful, tiger kitty, let me tell you.

I watched the flower ladies give this little pupply a cardboard roll they had finished with and it was happily playing with it.  I bent down and petted the puppy (a real no-no) and it was responsive and played with me...I was really enjoying myself as I waited for my friend.

As I watched the puppy play a "bag lady" came over, taking the roll from the pup, beating the pup with it - right in front of me - and told the dog to "get", in Russian of course.  An older man chewed her out royally but she didn't even hear him, though he was standing right on her shoulder.

She crumpled up the cardboard roll and put it into her Santa Claus sized bag and stomped off mumbling under her breath about stray dogs.

This cute and friendly little pup was learning a valuable lesson.  People are the enemy and you should just run with the pack.

Metro Dogs - they're a part of the scenery here, and there are lots of them.