Driver stops train to rescue frightened dog and reunites her with her 60-year-old owner

A railroad engineer stopped his train when he spotted a little, scared animal in some bushes beside the tracks near Rutland, England. Michael Jones, who was riding a freight train, spotted a pug named Poppy trembling by the tracks. A little after 8 in the morning, Jones was nearing Langham Crossing in his freight train when he described seeing a “flash of red” from Poppy’s harness disappear into the bushes near the level crossing. The sweet pooch had run away when a speeding car spooked her. Her elderly owners Dawn and Ian Bain had been out searching for her all night long. Fortunately for them, the train driver saw Poppy hiding in a hedge at the side of the railway track the very next morning.

“All of a sudden there was just this tiny little face just looking back at me,” Jones told the BBC. “She was trembling and looking down at the ground.” The good samaritan stopped the train and lept out of the cabin to take Poppy back somewhere safe. The trembling tiny dog seemed happy to see a friendly face. Jones said: "Without thinking I jumped out of the cab and rushed back as quick as I could to see if I could find this little dog and there she was just looking so very sad and lonely. She was trembling and looking down at the ground. I just couldn't believe my eyes." Poppy was about a mile from where she ran away and Jones returned to Oakham with Poppy on his knee.

Poppy was in the cab with her rescuer for about 20 minutes. He fed her crumpets and water. Mrs. Bain arrived at the Oakham crossing to ask the employee there if any dog had been reported on the tracks that morning. The man told her that a dog had just been found that morning. Upon learning this, her happiness knew no bounds. “My heart—it didn’t know whether to sing or stop,” she said. She did not find the time to change and was still in her nightgown when she had completed 12 hours of searching. “In comes this train with this beautiful man on, with Poppy sat on his knee. I cried, massively, and he cried," said the pet parent. 

Poppy was soon reunited with her owners as well as her furry companion Tinker. The family took her to a vet first for a thorough check-up and were grateful that she did not sustain any injuries during her ordeal. "She's just got a bloodshot eye but apart from that she's absolutely fine. She's very quiet and very subdued," said Mrs. Bain, adding that she's incredibly grateful for Jones being so observant and kind. "I genuinely believe if I hadn't spotted her, she would never have been found. Where she was, no one is looking there for any particular reason," he said.