Istanbul
Social Media Star: This street dog rides the subway like a seasoned commuter
Boji is readily petted by children
© Istanbul municipality’s press office / Picture Alliance
Street dog Boji is a little celebrity in Istanbul: every day he travels through the city by subway and tram and occasionally even gets on the ferry. As a result, he has a lot of fans on social networks.
Istanbul is a pulsating metropolis: Thousands of people use public transport every day to travel through the city, which has a population of more than 15 million. But time and again a dog interferes with them. He has a yellowish fur and is called Boji by the locals – and he loves to get around on the subway and tram. As a result, Boji has become a minor celebrity in Istanbul.
The amazing thing about it: Boji is always on his own. As a street dog, he has no owner to look after him. Nevertheless, the mixture of promenades moves in the thicket of the various lines and stations with the security of an experienced commuter in rush hour traffic. This caught the eye of some Istanbul residents, they posted pictures of the dog on Twitter – it quickly became a kind of sport in the city to track down the animal and share photos via social networks. Boji now has his own Twitter account with almost 70,000 followers.
Istanbul: Street dog Boji knows where to change trains
There you can see him relaxing on the seats of the tram, waiting patiently on the platform or occasionally cruising on the ferry. Boji can even change trains without any problems – and behaves in a more exemplary manner than some people: he always lets the passengers get off first, they say. “It’s like having a destination,” Aylin Erol of Metro Istanbul, the company that operates the Istanbul metro network, told Reuters.
The transport company became aware of the dog through the social media presence. At first out of pure interest: Boji got a microchip inserted to track his movements. It is now known that he covers up to 30 kilometers a day and heads for at least 29 stations. “We have found that he uses our trains and railways and that he knows where to go,” said Aylin Erol. Interesting findings, but then the potential of the dog as a marketing object was discovered in Istanbul.
Dog becomes a star in the subway
And so Boji is no longer just a star on Twitter and Instagram, but also a representative of the city on the Bosporus. The city administration and mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also like to decorate themselves with the dog from the subway. Media from all over the world report on Boji and passengers always want to take selfies with him – just like with a real celebrity. The days as a free-roaming street dog seem to be coming to an end for him.
Sources: Reuters / Boji on Twitter / German wave