SEATTLE, Wash. — A dog who gained fame for riding Seattle's city bus alone has died.
According to her owner-run Facebook page, Eclipse, a black lab-bullmastiff mix, died in her sleep Friday, two days after a veterinarian found cancerous tumors. She was 10.
The Washington Post reported that Eclipse gained notoriety in 2015 when she took a King County Metro bus alone to the dog park several times a week.
Her owner, Jeff Young, told USA Today that she first did it by sneaking onto the bus alone while he was smoking a cigarette.
Young told the news outlet that she knew which bus to take, the red one, because she'd done it "a million times" to get to the dog park in Belltown.
Soon after, Eclipse gained national attention, leading to her starring in a music video for the song “Bus Doggy Dog," produced by King County Metro, The Post reported.
On its Twitter account, King County Metro paid tribute to Eclipse.
Eclipse was a super sweet, world-famous, bus riding dog and true Seattle icon.
You brought joy and happiness to everyone and showed us all that good dogs belong on the bus. pic.twitter.com/YhSFjNGU05
— King County Metro 🚏 🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@KingCountyMetro) October 14, 2022
“Eclipse was a super sweet, world-famous, bus-riding dog and true Seattle icon," the city's public transportation system tweeted. "You brought joy and happiness to everyone and showed us all that good dogs belong on the bus.”
Young, who adopted Eclipse when she was 10 weeks old, told the news outlets that she'd been his best friend for nearly 11 years.
"Missing her doesn't even cover it," he told USA Today.
