Stray Dog Who Spent His Days Riding Istanbul’s Trains Alone Finally Finds a Home

When the train doors opened in Istanbul, a sandy-brown dog with floppy ears waited on the platform. He let the passengers step off first. Then he climbed aboard.

The dog’s name was Boji. He had no owner guiding him through the station or telling him when it was time to get off. But as Metro Istanbul staff came to notice, he knew where he wanted to go. When he reached his stop, he got off by himself.

If you saw Boji once, you might assume he’d wandered onto the train by chance. Then you’d see him again, on a different line or even on a ferry, and realize he knew his way around the city better than you’d guessed.

The same dog kept turning up all over Istanbul

In 2021, passengers began sharing pictures of Boji on their commutes. Someone would spot him on a tram. Someone else would see him on a bus. Then there he’d be on a ferry, crossing between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.

Boji had his preferences. When the weather was nice, he stayed out on the ferry deck. When it was cold or rainy, he went inside. And if the next ride was underground, he knew how to get down to the platform using an elevator or an escalator.

He even had a favorite spot to nap on the metro. He liked the area above the wheel assembly, known as a bogie. That’s where his name came from.

City veterinary workers brought Boji in for a checkup, and officials began tracking his trips. On one recorded day, he passed through 29 transit stops and covered about 19 miles. He even took a ferry out to the Princes’ Islands, off Istanbul’s coast.

The mileage was impressive, but the little habits made him so endearing. He knew when to wait at the doors. He knew where to settle down for a nap. On a wet day, he knew where to sit on the ferry to stay dry.

For passengers who spent their mornings taking the same route to work, seeing Boji was one small surprise they could look forward to.

A tram camera cleared Boji’s name

By November, Boji was so recognizable that a photo of a soiled tram seat spread online with his name attached to it. The person who posted it blamed him for the mess.

Boji’s trainer said the dog had spent the day at a training center. Then officials checked the tram’s security footage. It showed a man getting on the tram, taking feces out of his pocket and placing it on the seat himself.

After the incident, a city spokesperson said Boji would be put up for adoption because officials were worried about his safety. The dog who had learned to move through a whole city needed a place where he could still wander and be looked after.

Boji finally had somewhere to come home to

On Jan. 11, 2022, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu announced that Ömer Koç, the chairman of Koç Holding, had adopted Boji. In his announcement, the mayor thanked Koç for giving the dog a sheltered home where he’d have room to walk and run freely.

It was easy to picture why that detail mattered for Boji. This was a dog who could spend a whole day hopping between trams and trains, then turn up on a ferry. His new home gave him room to do what he’d always loved, with someone there to care for him when he was ready to settle down.

For months, people across Istanbul had wondered where they’d see Boji next. He might be stretched out near the train wheels or taking in the air on a ferry deck.

Now, wherever he wandered during the day, he had a home to come back to.

Share Boji’s story to thank the Istanbul commuters who welcomed him, the city workers who helped keep him safe, and Ömer Koç for giving this adventurous dog a home with room to roam.