Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/dog-rescue-railroad-tracks/

Heroes don’t wear capes, they look like normal, everyday people. One train worker became a hero when he saved a dog who was stuck on a train track.

According to The Mirror, 56-year-old ticket dateline assistant, Paul Hawthorn, was doing his typical Monday routine at the Leagrave Station in Luton when a dog wandered onto the live train tracks.

He had to get the dog off the tracks quickly, and he managed to do so with the help of a croissant.

Paul was truly a hero, helping to save that pooch from a horrific end. One of the nearby onlookers managed to catch a video of the rescue, and then posted it to TikTok. Needless to say, it quickly went viral with so many people praising his quick actions. And so far, it has amassed more than 5 million views and growing!

Following the incident, Paul spoke to Newsweek and shared, “Then my worst fear was realised as it jumped down on the tracks. I was thinking ‘What should I do?’ and then my training kicked in. I rang the signalman to caution the trains, getting them to slow down ready to stop if necessary.”

He then added, “I’m not allowed to go down on the track but the guy from the coffee kiosk on the platform there had some croissant and enticed the dog over to the platform edge. It couldn’t jump back up but as it put its paws up to get the croissant, I managed to grab it and haul it up on to the platform.”

Once the dog was rescued, however, that wasn’t the end. Paul shared that he had to sit with the pup, afraid to let him go for fear he’d end up back on the rails. Eventually, Paul was able to get the pup back to the safety of the staffroom, where he took to social media in order to get the word out about the pup. He figured that somewhere, someone was missing their beloved pet.

And he was right. Just two hours later, the dog’s owners got in touch and showed up at the train station in order to collect their pup. They explained that he had gone missing from their home after a garage door was left open.

Paul explained, “The lady was crying; she was so grateful. Apparently, a garage door had been left open and the dog had escaped. It was quite traumatic at the time. I don’t own a dog but we help people out by dog sitting and I just felt sorry for the dog – I thought oh my God, it’s going to get run over by a train. It worked out all right in the end – it was a relief.”

@getinthebarth People dump dogs at stations like this all the time 💔 for every evil person there is a kind hearted one #hero #doglove #rescue ♬ Arcade – Duncan Laurence

People have taken to the comments to thank Paul for his actions and to call him a hero. One person wrote in the comments, “Lucky doggo, amazing man.” While someone else added, “You absolutely hero! Thank you.”

What do you think go Paul’s rescue of the dog? Let us know!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog