Dogs On Trains!

The Financial Times has an AWESOME story about the dogs who live--and travel on--the Moscow Metro. Some just live in the stations while others actually take the train and travel to different stations, often on a regular schedule. A Russian biologist is studying how, in the last 30 years, the dogs have begun to develop their own unique doggie culture, noting that as dogs grow more wild they still lack aggression while remaining socialized to humans, uninterested in affection but willing to coexist and understanding how to use humans for food (ie, using their big brown eyes.) And, as it turns out, our pack has something in common with the Russian dogs!

A pack of dogs, however, can hold a dominant position over other packs and their leader will often “patrol” the other packs by moving in and out of them. His observations have led Poyarkov to conclude that this leader is not necessarily the strongest or most dominant dog, but the most intelligent – and is acknowledged as such. The pack depends on him for its survival.

I am most impressed with these dogs, who now have their own site, Metrodog, where people post pictures and videos of the dogs they come across. I have decided that I need to get out and see the world myself so I am going to learn to ride the train. I plan to enlist the help of my local stray/ train enthusiast and ride the rails:

But before I start my life as a rambling dog, I think I'm due for a nap. The world can wait.