Furry freeloader takes transit for ‘ruff’ ride Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
By: Maggie Macintosh Posted: 5:00 PM CDT Friday, May. 26, 2023 Last Modified: 9:48 AM CDT Saturday, May. 27, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 26/05/2023 (834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The owners of a Bernese Mountain Dog that hitched a ride on a city bus this week want to thank the driver who kept the puppy safe and ensured her homecoming with — at the very least — the price of a one-way ticket.

Sarah Melo said her family’s new puppy, Minnie, escaped from their fenced-in backyard in St. Vital shortly after being let outside around 6:15 a.m. on Thursday.

Amid the chaos of a weekday morning, during which three young students were getting ready for school, Minnie is believed to have shimmied her way under a gap beneath their wooden gate.

Winnipeg Transit confirmed the canine, who is 11 months old, hopped aboard Route 16 when the driver stopped at Dunkirk Drive and West Fernwood during morning rush hour on May 25.

“It was the first time I was excited for a fare evader,” said operator Elizabeth Vaughan, a self-described animal lover.

Vaughan, who has worked at Transit for 17 years, made a report to her employer’s control centre about a puppy boarding the vehicle around 6:30 a.m. The driver recalled checking in with passengers to ensure everyone was comfortable with the special guest and willing to help keep Minnie aboard until a supervisor could pick her up.

The puppy rode the bus for 20 minutes before being taken to Transit headquarters and later, home by an inspector in a city vehicle. The adventure lasted approximately 90 minutes.

“My husband wants to give $3.15 for the bus fare because she rode the bus, do something cute for them. We are so, so, so grateful to them. She could’ve been hit by a car. There are so many things that could’ve happened with this situation,” Melo said.

A ride on the city bus costs an adult or post-secondary student $3.15 in cash. The fare is $2.65 for seniors and youth aged 16 and under.

Youth aged 11 or under — a category that could technically include Minnie, who is approximately seven in human years — do not have to pay, if they are accompanied by a paying customer.

Melo said she was alerted about her puppy’s whereabouts — and that Minnie, who had never run off, went missing in the first place — when she checked her phone at 7:30 a.m.

The owner had missed multiple calls and a text message from an unknown number belonging to an employee at the public transit agency who located her digits on Minnie’s tag.

Although the family was shocked to learn about their pet’s sudden disappearance, Melo noted the puppy has tried to ride the school bus with her son on multiple occasions since they adopted her in March.

Berneses are known for their loving nature, eagerness to please, and openness to strangers.

The city does not allow animals to be loose on its fleet unless they are approved service or support pets, although this is not the first time a canine has taken an unplanned trip and been returned to its owners.

The customer service centre hangs portraits of its operators’ rare puppy passengers in the Osborne Street hub to boost morale among staff and visitors, said inspector Cindy Arsenault.

Arsenault said there have been four such riders in recent years. Minnie is the latest to be honoured on the wall.

“While we remind our passengers that the only animals they can bring on buses are service animals or those kept in small carriers, we can understand why Minnie boarded,” city spokeswoman Alissa Clark said in an email. “Transit is a safe, relaxing and attractive transportation option, worthy of enthusiasm.”

Melo’s husband has bought a wooden board to attach to their fence as a temporary way to close the gap.

On Friday afternoon, shortly after being let outside, Minnie sat beside the updated gate as if to examine and bemoan its existence, as well as brainstorm a way around her owners’ efforts to foil future adventures in the neighbourhood.

“She was going from person to person,” Vaughan said of Minnie’s outing on the bus. “She was just loving everybody; she was having a great time.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.