The Dodo Soulmates: Healthcare Worker’s Dog Makes Coming Home From Work on the Frontlines Easier

Ruchi Kiangaza is a Hounds Town USA customer and essential healthcare worker in New York City, and no one is cheering her on more than her dog, PonyBoy.

According to an interview on The Dodo , when the COVID-19 crisis hit, Kiangaza was called in to Stonybrook Hospital to work on the frontlines. With the high influx of new patients in the area, she was forced to work longer hours, leaving her dog, PonyBoy, home alone much more than he was used to. With so much uncertainty about when things would return to normal, Kiangaza took PonyBoy to Hounds Town USA so he could socialize with other dogs and get a reprieve from their 600-square-foot apartment everyday during this crisis.

Despite working crazy shifts and coming home completely worn out, Kiangaza is always cheered up by how excited PonyBoy is to see her. “He’s so happy to see me every time,” Kiangaza said on The Dodo Soulmates. “Even though he knows it’s me everyday when I come to pick him up, he jumps all the way up, makes eye contact with me as if he were surprised, and then just sits quietly for the whole drive home.”