Meet Eclipse, the Dog That Rides the Bus to the Park by Herself Every Day

(TMU) — Anyone who has a pet dog knows that one of the most important duties of dog ownership includes making sure that it gets enough daily exercise to stay healthy. Like us humans, a dog who only stays indoors throughout the week will simply grow weaker and sicker over time.

But for one determined pooch in Seattle, Washington, getting her daily bit of exercise is a solo affair—albeit with a bit of help from the local metro transit bus service.

Eclipse is a Labrador Retriever-Mastiff mix—also known as a Mastador—who used to rely on her owner, Jeff Young, to get to her local transit stop before riding the D Line bus to Belltown Dog Park where she spends a few hours exercising every day before returning home.

But now Eclipse is able to make it to her bus stop as well as to the dog park without any need for Young. And she even has her own bus pass attached to her collar.

Local bus rider and Seattle native Robbie Lauren explained in a Facebook post how the Mastador, now eight years old, first began taking the bus.

Lauren wrote:

“It started when her owner, Jeff Young, was taking too long when the bus arrived, so she impatiently ran ahead and got on the bus by herself.

The bus driver recognized her and dropped her off at the dog park, and later Jeff caught up with her. After several more trips by herself, Jeff started letting her go on her own, and she always comes back home a couple of hours later.

Every day she leaves her house, by herself, and takes the bus downtown to the dog park where she spends a couple of hours getting exercise and making friends, and then she takes the bus back home again.

She even has her own bus pass attached to the collar.”

Since her fellow commuters began taking notice of Eclipse, they started snapping photos of their interactions with the friendly dog, making her a local celebrity with a devoted fan base of over 77,000 followers on Facebook.

Lauren added:

“All of the bus drivers know her and she makes them smile, and many of the regular passengers enjoy seeing her every day and will often sit down next to her.

Even the police have given their approval as long as the bus drivers are okay with the arrangement.

She makes everybody happy.”                                                

The owner, Jeff, often receives phone calls from concerned locals who fear that the dog has run away from home, but he politely lets them know that he is always close by and confident that Eclipse knows what she’s doing.

By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com