Saturday, January 17, 2015

Seattle Dog Figures Out Buses, Starts Riding Solo To The Dog Park


Be SURE to go to the LINK to see a precious short video about Eclipse's puiblic transit rides to the dog park.
Lymerick
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Seattle Dog Figures Out Buses, Starts Riding Solo To The Dog Park
The Huffington Post
By Ryan Grenoble
Posted: 01/13/2015
Seattle's public transit system has had a ruff go of things lately, and that has riders smiling.
You see, of the 120 million riders who used the system last year, one of them is actually a dog. Seattle's KOMO-TV reports the 2-year-old black Labrador mix, named Eclipse, has become a regular fixture on the city's D-Line after she figured out how to ride the bus alone to the dog park.
"All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does," fellow rider Tiona Rainwater told KOMO. "She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?"
The dog's owner, Jeff Young, lives next to the stop. He said Eclipse sometimes hops on board without him if he's not yet finished smoking his cigarette when the bus arrives. The pup has become a regular on the route, riding three or four stops before exiting at her destination of choice. "I catch up with her at the dog park," Young explained.
Miles Montgomery, a Seattle radio host and D-Line commuter, was taken by surprise when Eclipse hopped into the seat next to him on a ride last Friday, looked out the window, then got off at her stop. Montgomery snapped a bemused selfie with the commuting canine, adding the caption, "Bus is full this morning:"
A Metro Transit spokesperson told the AP they're happy a dog can appreciate public transit, though Eclipse should really be on a leash. King County says dogs are allowed to ride buses at the discretion of the driver, provided the animal isn't a hazard and doesn't create a disturbance.
Seattle isn't alone in having a streetwise dog. Stray dogs in Moscow, Russia, have learned to commute in and out of the city from the suburbs by riding the subway, even watching out for other dogs to make sure they exit at the correct stop.
Get along, little doggies. LINK

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There are quite a few adults and children, who, due to past experiences, are afraid of dogs as it is. However, if this dog is constantly riding without his owner present to control it, that is even worse. I'm sure this dog is a nice dog; however rules are rules and they were created for reasons. An always friendly dog can turn at any time; it has happened before. Also, if they have to let this one on by itself, then they essentially have to let others on, as well. There should be no exceptions. What is there to stop other people from doing this, even with all other varying kinds of animals? Then pretty soon there are no seats for other riders because it is halfway filled up with dogs, pigs, you name it. There is a high potential for an incident which can cause a lawsuit with a situation like this; if something were to happen, and seeing that the rules are clearly and willfully being violated, the person filing would probably win. It seems to me the owner, as well as the bus drivers, and the transit authority, have no consideration for long established rules. If a bus rider has a strong fear of dogs, they may be even in worse fear of one who is not leased and is not under the immediate control of an owner who is present. They should not have to endure that fear, knowing that there is no owner nearby to control the dog, and it is unleashed, which is a violation of city leash laws.