A celebrity pup has passed away. Pet parent Jeff Young announced on Facebook that Seattle’s famous, bus-riding Black Labrador-Bull Mastiff mix Eclipse died in her sleep. In a previous post, Young told fans that the dog had been diagnosed with cancerous tumors. Eclipse was 10 years old.
RIP Eclipse
Judging from the outpouring on social media, Eclipse will be sorely missed by many adoring fans, including King County Metro, Seattle’s public transportation provider. They posted on Twitter heart-wrenching condolences: “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…Eclipse was a super sweet, world-famous, bus-riding dog and a true Seattle icon. You brought joy and happiness to everyone and showed us all that good dogs belong on the bus.”
Ticket to Ride
Young told Fox13 that he took Eclipse on the bus to the Belltown dog park. However, one day when he was smoking a cigarette and couldn’t finish in time to hop on board, Eclipse got herself on the bus and got off at the dog park five stops later. Young said it took a while to figure out where she went, but he soon tracked her to the dog park. She continued to ride solo for the past few years, often strolling the bus aisles on the D-line and sitting on the seats like a human. Clever girl.
Eclipse became a fixture on that bus route and King County Metro issued her very own bus pass, which was attached to her collar. (But they also said that Eclipse would be safer riding with her parent, and on a leash.)
Public transit riders loved her. “All the bus drivers know her… She sits here just like a person does,” passenger Tiona Rainwater told CNN affiliate KOMO in 2015. “She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?”
Local radio host Miles Montgomery saw Eclipse looking for a window seat so she could “get off at the dog park,” and he couldn’t believe it. “I just look out the window and I’m like, ‘Did that just happen?’” Montgomery told KOMO.
Fan Tributes
Fan Linda Macklin Osburn wrote: “Thank you for sharing her with us for all these years. Her adventures entertained us, kept us smiling. Through the ups and downs of the last 3 years, Eclipse brought such joy to our lives.”
Heather McTammany wrote: “Thank you for sharing this special bus-riding dog with us for many years. Ride free, sweet Eclipse!”
Jodi Whitney wrote: “ My deepest condolences to you. She was a sweet, special girl and she leaves a bit of her light here with us who’ll remember her.”
An Enduring Legacy
Eclipse once starred in a hip-hop video. She was also featured in the National Enquirer. Random House even published a book in 2016 titled, Dog on Board: The True Story of Eclipse, the Bus-Riding Dog and made it into Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! 100 Years book. She was also featured on shop billboards.
Watch this Komo News Video, and see how video creator Mitch Summers determined Eclipse was the smartest dog in the world.
