This story is told by Haypee Barcelinia, a resident of Quezon City in the Philippines. Barcelinia would catch a bus (traditionally called a ‘jeepney’) to work each day of the week.
One day, he began to notice a dog trailing the bus.
Bus chase
Each time the bus stopped to let on passengers, the dog would, according to Barcelinia, "place her front paws on the back step". As the jeepney moved away, the dog would be left behind only to begin its chasing once again.
The bus driver too had noticed the exertions of the dog and its keenness to travel, but he was reluctant to let it travel on the bus for fear of its causing a nuisance to passengers.
Barcelinia said: "No matter how tired the dog became, she seemed intent on catching up to the vehicle."
After several weeks of watching the dog attempt and fail to climb aboard the bus, the driver's resolve crumbled and he allowed the dog onto the bus.
Journey to new home
The stray appeared relieved and found a space on the floor to lie down. The dog caused no trouble for other passengers. In fact, it was so well-mannered and had proved itself so spirited that the bus driver eventually adopted it.
Some stray dogs seem intent on using public transport to get around. In September 2018, Wamiz brought news of a Chilean local hero called Cristhian Lizama. On his route around Maule, Lizama noticed a stray dog clearly made unhappy by the winter cold. Lizama stopped his bus to let the stray on board.
In towns and cities that have a high population of stray cats and dogs, interactions between humans and animals are commonplace. Unfortunately, not every human is as kind and welcoming as our two bus drivers are.
