MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Anatoly Korolyov.) The Moscow Metro will soon have a monument to a dog. The finished sculpture was recently displayed in the art shop of Alexander Tsigal. Right now the dog is made of clay, but by the New Year it will be cast in bronze and put up in the hall of the Mendeleyevskaya Station.

This story took place two years ago. A stray dog called Malchik (Boy) lived underground inside the Mendeleyevskaya Station for about three years. He was of good character, and the Metro employees used to feed him. There are many stray dogs roaming the city streets now, abandoned by their owners because of economic hardships. (The Moscow budget for 2006 has set aside 74 million rubles ($2.58 million) to "regulate the upkeep of animals," or simply, to neuter them.) Today, it is almost a luxury to keep a dog.

To continue the story, Malchik had a stroke of bad luck. One day, a fashion model, Yuliana R., was out with her Staffordshire terrier of impeccable breed. She noticed Malchik and started setting her dog against him. In effect, it was a parody of social conflict.

Malchik managed to defend himself and the pedigree terrier retreated. But the angry owner retrieved a knife from her elegant rucksack, and stabbed the stray dog before the eyes of stunned passers-by. They rushed to take her knife away, but the dog could not be saved.

This wild attack sent shockwaves through Moscow. People's comments on the web site devoted to the dog testify to the degree of their outrage.

The fashion model rushed off to Italy, but the incident was not hushed up. She was declared insane in a court hearing and is now in a mental hospital.

A group of famous people wrote a letter to the head of the Moscow Metro Dmitry Gayev, suggesting that a monument be put up to the stabbed dog, and he agreed.

The group, and other residents of Moscow have raised $15,000 for the monument, and soon the bronze dog will sit in its favorite Moscow underpass.

Cynologists estimate the stray dog population in Moscow at over 100,000. Some of them have become incredibly smart in the fierce struggle for survival.

Speaking at a news conference on this subject, Moscow zoo psychologist Andrey Neuronov made an interesting statement: "A new breed has emerged among stray dogs - traveling individuals. This is a completely different population. These dogs are far more advanced than others."

He went on to say that this elite group has learnt to use the Moscow Metro. Having sneaked past the controllers, they fearlessly go down the escalator, choose the required direction, board a train, and, most surprisingly, disembark where they need.

More often than not, these dogs travel to big markets located close to the VDNKh, Cherkizovskaya and Sportivnaya stations. They will always find something to eat there. Dogs also like railway stations. Apart from the Metro they travel on trolleybuses and trams.

These canine intellectuals know Moscow inside out. There is a saying, if you beat a rabbit long enough, it will learn to strike matches. Unfortunately, Moscow has taught dogs to do the same.