Boji, a Street Dog That Loves Riding Public Transportation, Becomes Istanbul's Most Famous Commuter

Here's the mid-day Happy Thread. And it's a good one.

Boji has become a worldwide sensation.

A train-hopping street dog named Boji is Turkey’s most beloved travel buddy.

...

And it's always a treat to meet the golden-furred, floppy-eared pooch while patronizing public transit-- trains, buses and even ferries -- throughout Europe's largest metro area.

"You take the train and, suddenly, you see Boji," said Metro Istanbul's Aylin Erol. "You just smile and catch the moment, really."

Municipal officials in Istanbul track the drifting dog's journeys through a microchip, they told Reuters.

"We noticed a dog using our metros and trains and he knows where to go. He knows where to get out," Erol explained, and added, "it's like he has a purpose."

Boji's daily treks extend up to 20 miles as he stops through some 29 metro stations, they also said, including one that recently put him on a boat to the Princes' Islands archipelago, southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara.

Records of the pup’s pilgrimages suggest his favorite mode of transport is the city's historic tram lines, but he also frequents the subway. The name -- Boji -- was bestowed by Metro Istanbul workers, who noted that the hobo hound preferred to ride the middle of a subway carriage, called boji in Turkish.

I just got an email from Barack Obama: "Actually, in Indonesian, boji means 'meals on wheels.'"

Obama ate a dog, you know.

Video of Boji on a bus.

Boji on a ferry.

Boji has to hurry to make this train!

Local news report on Istanbul's favorite commuter.

posted by Ace at 03:55 PM

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