A wayward dog took an adventure on Tuesday, chasing and racing a Metro-North train from South Bronx to Manhattan. The train’s engineer was careful to keep on her and drove slowly until the dog could be caught by MTA police. Now her owners are being sought, or else she will be needing a new home – one with a fence.
The dog began her journey at a rail yard on 149th Street in the Bronx, and made a game of racing the train for about a mile and a half.
“She was just running like she didn’t have a care in the world,” said engineer Joseph Delia.
The dog ran parallel to the track, and while the train was at a red signal, she got ahead of the lead car. She fell between the ties twice, causing Delia to hit the brakes.
“The dog was in front of me, running in front,” the dog lover said. “Oh, my god, I was going real slow.”
Passengers wondered why they were moving so slowly, and gathered to the front when told by a conductor that there was a dog running along the tracks.
Delia was cautious, and worried that she might hit the third rail.
“She’s not a very big dog. I was worried she wouldn’t make it and get electrocuted,” he said.
They pulled into the 125th Street station in Harlem, where Metropolitan Transportation Authority police were waiting for her, thanks to a call from Delia. Errold Borges, Luis Alvarez, and a sanitation worker headed toward the tracks to capture the dog, but before they even made it down the stairs, she pranced over to them.
“We whistled, called and it actually came to us,” Alvarez said. “It was actually very happy to see somebody because remember, it came from the Bronx.”
Passengers were overjoyed to see the dog rescued.
“They were hooting and hollering,” Delia recalled. “They were all cheering.”
Emergency service police checked the dog and escorted her into a patrol car.
“Very friendly dog,” Alvarez described. “It had a limp, was docile, wagging her tail.”
Workers called Tie for the number of ties she crossed, and now she is being kept at Animal Care & Control of NYC.
“We don’t really know who she is or what she is because she had no tags around her neck, she had no license, and she has no microchip,” said Risa Weinstock, executive director of AC&C. “She definitely has an owner out there somewhere, so we’re really hopeful that with all this attention her owner will come forward.”
The Collie-shepherd mix, believed to be about three years old, is well-fed, very friendly and knows a number of commands.
If no owner comes forward, she will be put up for adoption Friday afternoon. However, this is not a no-kill shelter, so her time will be limited if she is not claimed. If you are interested in her or know who she belongs to, please click here.
