Dogs
Stray dog takes the subway by himself every single day
Boji rides the subway, bus, and ferry.
D.G. Sciortino
11.08.21

If Boji had to pay to ride Istanbul’s public transportation system, he’d need to get a job to pay for his fare because he rides it every day.

But dogs don’t get jobs, with the exception of service dogs and actors.

Thankfully, Boji isn’t bound to a job.

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boji_ist - Instagram

Boji spends his days doing what he wants.

And that usually means traveling the land by subway, ferry, bus, or tram.

“He’s such a free spirit,” Getty Images Photographer Chris McGrath told CNN.

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

“All he wants to do is ride on transportation. Every time he goes past a bus or van any form of transport, he just wants to get on it. It’s really quite bizarre.”

The Washington Post reports that Boji can travel up to 30 kilometers a day.

He passes through at least 29 metro stations and takes two ferry rides a day and miraculously knows where to get on and off these modes of transportation.

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

“Two months ago, we noticed a dog trying to use our trams, metros and our trains and he knows where to go and he knows where to get out,” Aylin Erol, head of customer relations at Metro Istanbul, told CNN. “It was quite interesting and we have started to follow him. And it was really an interesting pattern. It’s something like that he knows where to go and has a purpose.”

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

His purpose might just be to put a smile on people’s faces because Boji has quickly become an internet sensation.

Public transit officials eventually brought Boji to the vet to make sure he was in good health.

He was also microchipped so Metro Istanbul can track him through a mobile application and make sure he is safe.

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

Boji also now receives social behavior training, not that he really needed it.

“Boji knows all the rules of travel, gives way to the disembarking passengers, waits, enters the train, and calmly finds a place for himself,” wrote Cumhuriyet. “When he misses the subway, he runs after the subway.”

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

You’ll often find Boji taking a snooze on the subway, enjoying the breeze coming off the water while riding the ferry, posing for selfies on the puts, or getting lots of scritches and treats.

“I think it’s very beautiful,” passenger Abdulkadir Yalçın told Cumhuriyet, according to The Dodo. “It adds joy to the subway. It makes us smile. It’s the first time I’ve encountered such a thing.”

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

Boji also has a kennel at one of the Metro stations where he is fed whenever he swings by.

But Boji doesn’t spend much time there.

He’d rather be chasing cats.

boji_ist - Instagram
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boji_ist - Instagram

“(Boji) sees a cat in the distance, and he just chases it up. I saw him do it three or four times, chase them up trees and stuff. He really dislikes cats,” said McGrath. “But apart from that, he’s totally a perfect dog. Just wanders around. Everybody pats him. He’s super happy.”

Boji even has his very own Instagram page with more than 95,000 followers. You can check that out here.

Check out a video of Boji on his commute below!

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