This Doggie Bus Is the Happiest Vehicle on the Road
When you’re a dog trainer in small-town Alaska, there’s only one way to get all your dogs from one place to another. That’s right: a doggie bus.
The worst part of most people's day is the morning commute. For drivers of the dog shuttle bus in Alaska, though, getting dogs and their friends together for the day has to be a better pick-me-up than a mug of hot coffee.
A video of dogs boarding the bus has been making rounds on the internet after its initial upload to TikTok, where it has accumulated tens of millions of views in just a single day. The video was shared by user @mo_mountain_mutts, whose profile description explains they run "a dog walking, training, and sitting business" in Skagway, Alaska, with their husband.
At each stop, they open the door to allow, beckon, or guide their canine passengers onto the bus before clipping them in if they're wearing a harness. (Yes, dog seat belts are real, and they're strongly advised if you regularly take yours for rides.) From there, they go to do dog-friendly stuff, from training sessions to hikes to jaunts out on frozen lakes—when the ice is thick enough, of course.
As the drop-off probably isn't as fun, we're not sure what it looks like when the good boys and good girls finally get home. Still, the pickup video will no doubt inspire similar services across the country—especially in areas with easy access to the outdoors. If this couple can make a living from taking dogs on adventures in a town of barely 1,000, making this business work should be a breeze in bigger cities. That is, as long as you build a customer base before buying a bus or a Dodge Viper stretch limo. The sight of dozens of dogs' ears flapping in that, though, would be one to behold.
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