If you need the numeric values, here's the quickest way:

dog, cat, rabbit = range(3) 

If you need the numeric values, here's the quickest way:

dog, cat, rabbit = range(3) 

In Python 3.x you can also add a starred placeholder at the end, which will soak up all the remaining values of the range in case you don't mind wasting memory and cannot count:

dog, cat, rabbit, horse, *_ = range(100) 

If you need the numeric values, here's the quickest way:

(dog,cat,rabbit) = range(0,3) 

If you need the numeric values, here's the quickest way:

dog, cat, rabbit = range(3)