Rabies, Taxes and 'Furry Detectives': Changing Human-Dog Relations in the Late Romanov Empire, 1860s–1917

Abstract: In the second half of the nineteenth century, the living conditions of urban dogs around the world worsened significantly. Perceived as potential vectors of rabies, the authorities of modernizing cities tried to reduce the overall population of dogs by catching and killing them, by introducing a dog tax on their human owners and by passing special orders, according to which dogs had to be muzzled and leashed in public spaces. This article analyses the development and implementation of these policies in the Romanov Empire. Based on archival material from the Baltic provinces and periodicals from other regions, it argues that municipal regulations of the late nineteenth century caused dogs to change their lives, adapt to new niches available to them, and co-evolve with people to remain in the urban setting of the empire.