People Kept Seeing A Dog Using Public Transport In Istanbul, And Authorities Placed A Tracker On Him – It Turns Out He Commutes Over 20 Miles Each Day

Boji, is a stray dog who uses public transport every day to travel around Istanbul.

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 28, 2021

Dogs in public transport are not that uncommon. We are all used to seeing people bringing in their pets or guide dogs helping people with disabilities get around.

But one stray dog helps people by making their commute more enjoyable. Boji rides the public transport in Istanbul, Turkey, every day.

He does it without any help and guidance - totally independent and knows where to get in and off. He changes trains and buses often, and many people see him during the day.

It's no wonder this dog became a sort of celebrity and one of Istanbul's trademarks. He even has his own Instagram account where people can post photos and locations of sightings.

Frankly, he became a hero of everyone who ever tried to figure out the city's complex and confusing public transportation network. The dog is very friendly and calm, and people enjoy his company. Is there a better way to fight the boredom of commuting?

The authorities came up with the idea of attaching a tracker device to see the dog's routes and which lines he takes most often. The results were surprising. Each day, the dog travels about 20 miles, even uses ferries. Scroll down and read more:

Boji is a stray dog who likes to move around Istanbul by using public transport

Boji caught other commuters’ attention, and they started taking pics of him in the subway, trains, and even the ferry.

He is very intelligent and knows the rules of public transport (better than most of us)

He bothers no one

Istanbul is home to some 400,000 to 600,000 stray dogs and cats, estimates and the citizens of this metropolis have a special bond with them. It is one of the things that foreigners notice first when they visit for the first time.

He gives way to the disembarking passengers, waiting for them and entering the train after it’s fully emptied

He is very calm

Boji waits on the outside if the weather is nice and goes inside if it’s bad

He enjoys his rides

“Historical sources from the Ottoman era show that dogs served as guards for neighborhoods; ate the garbage, since there were no municipal sanitation services; and would bark to alert people when there were fires, which used to happen a lot,” says Kimberly Hart, an anthropologist at SUNY Buffalo State College who studies Istanbul’s street animals as part of the city’s intangible cultural heritage. “But it wasn’t just a functional relationship; it was seen as a good deed to feed and take care of them.”

"The bowls of food and water and homemade shelters that modern Istanbul residents place on the streets for the city’s dogs — and its abundant stray cats — hark back to Ottoman times, when mosques had drinking-water troughs for animals, charitable foundations were established to feed them, and travelers described seeing “little straw huts” set up for dogs."

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality attached a tracker to see how far the dog travels

The results were interesting

Boji travels around 29 stops a day, reaching a distance of 17 to 19 miles

He also has favorite lines

One of the dog’s favorite means of transport is the M4 subway line. It is a 18-mile, 19-station rapid transit line

Boji is a stray dog, a crossbreed of Sivas Kangal and shepherd dog.

Boji has been thoroughly checked recently and the examination showed that he is completely healthy

Boji loves company

Seeing how stray dogs and cats are treated with love, respect, and care in this modern and mysterious city, makes us go there even more. Istanbul is notorious for their relationship with stray cats, if you haven't heard, you can read more about some of their stories here and here.

Damjan