The official party line is that keeping pets is bourgeois and that the cost of supporting them is wasteful. Yet, among the courses available to Young Pioneers (Communist Party groups for children age 5 through 17) is dog handling and training; the government provides free veterinary care for companion animals, and there are no pet bans in any type of housing (though in cities there usually is a limit of three dogs per family).
The number of pet dogs, cats, birds and other creatures has skyrocketed in recent years, with almost every household having some kind of animal. Among the problems this has caused is a shortage of immunization vaccines. Rabies is well controlled by immunizing all dogs each April at free, temporary clinics, but I was told that there is little parvovirus vaccine and only temporary gamma globulin shots, rather than the vaccines used in the United States, for prevention of distemper. As a result, many dogs there have discolored teeth, showing evidence of having had the disease.
The Soviet pet explosion has led to the problem of strays, just as it has here. Animals are impulsively acquired, then discarded. The situation became so severe that in 1981 the government considered a $350-per-dog license fee. The people screamed, and the idea was quickly dropped.
The present license fee in cities averages about $30. Dogcatchers appear to be efficient, since I saw few strays in Soviet cities.
To the Soviets, dogs are portable status symbols that one can trot around and show off. Pets cost a substantial amount ($150 and up for a purebred dog), but they're a lot less expensive than such things as sophisticated stereos and designer clothing - if you could find them.
