Beloved Seattle Pup Who Rode The Bus Alone To Dog Park Has Died

Many Seattle bus riders knew Eclipse. The pup was known for riding the bus alone to the dog park a few times a week since 2015. She even had her own Facebook page with more than 120,000 fans who loved to follow her exciting life on social media. Last week, her owner posted the sad new that the friendly dog passed away in her sleep at 10-years-old. A prior post had explained that she was diagnosed with cancerous tumors.

The black lab/Mastiff mix was owned by Jeff Young, and the two of them would regularly take the bus to the Belltown Dog Park. One day while he was smoking a cigarette, the bus arrived and the pup decided to board without him. Within a few weeks, Eclipse was a regular commuter, and bus drivers recognized her and where she was headed.

Back in 2015 when Eclipse's bus trips began, fellow passengers told Seattle's KOMO News that the pup knew her stop by watching out the window. "All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does," fellow commuter Tiona Rainwater said. "She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?"

The independent pup doesn't always ride the bus alone. She takes trips to the dog park a few times a week - sometimes alone and sometimes with her owner. "We get separated. She gets on the bus without me, and I catch up with her at the dog park," Young said. "It's not hard to get on. She gets on in front of her house and she gets off at the dog park, three or four stops later." Young explained that at that time, Eclipse was in the area for two years and has been "urbanized." "She's a bus-riding, sidewalk-walking dog," he said. "Probably once a week I get a phone call. 'Hi. I have your dog Eclipse here on 3rd and Bell.' I have to tell them, 'no. She's fine.' She knows what she's doing."

Eclipse caught the attention of so many people in Seattle that it wasn't long before she gained national attention. According to Fox 13 Seattle, she has a book written about her called, "Dog on Board: The True Story of Eclipse, the Bus-Riding Dog," that came out in October 2016. She also ended up in Ripley's Believe It Or Not! 100 Years book.

Eclipse was so well known that King County Metro created a music video featuring the pup showing a day in the life of the bus riding dog captioned, " Eclipse grabbed headlines around the world and became Seattle’s most famous bus rider because of her solo trips to the dog park. We caught up with Eclipse to help her plan an eventful day in Seattle, visiting everywhere she likes to go with the new Puget Sound Trip Planner App. Help share her fun-filled day and tag it with #busdoggydog"

And now that the beloved dog has crossed the rainbow bridge, King County Metro posted a tribute to their forever friend on Twitter.

A few days ago, Young posted the news of the cancerous tumor diagnosis and only days later posted the sad news about the dog's passing, captioning the post, "Hey everyone. Eclipse passed in her sleep about 7 this morning." The post received more than 23,000 likes and nearly 5,000 comments. King County Metro Transit commented, "We are so sorry to hear of Eclipse's passing. She was a Seattle icon. The entire Metro team sends our love, she will be missed." Another follower wrote, "Eclipse is taking the bus across the Rainbow Bridge, for one last ride. Rest in peace. You were a great dog." The comment section quickly filled up with messages of condolence and love.

Many of the page's followers asked how they can help Young, and in response, he posted, "Thanks to all for your heart felt expressions and compassion if you’d like to help out with Eclipse's cremation you can donate @ $jeffdee17 or call me at 206-271-8876

I appreciate all of you." In a follow-up post, he wrote, "To be clear any $'s left over from cremation costs will go to putting up poop bag dispensers. To help good dogs have better owners

"