Two Tyne and Wear Metro Operations Managers at Nexus have been praised for saving a lost dog which strayed onto the network in June. Louis Meach and Alan Hudson rescued Bobby the Rhodesian Ridgeback by enticing him with some chicken.
Although they both considered the rescue all in a days work, Bobby’s relieved owner has personally thanked them for their efforts.
Louis, 33, said: “I was at South Gosforth station when a customer said there was a dog on the line. I looked around and I saw him running down the track. We reacted quickly. We got on the next train, and the driver was able to proceed at caution. We then got out on the lines to look for Bobby on foot. We found him near an access gate and enticed him with the food. Alan managed to get him on the lead, and we took him off the line quickly after that.
“It was a relief as it could have been a lot worse. There was a real risk he could have been struck by a train. He’s a lovely dog. He was pleased to see us.
“It was satisfying to know we had rescued him. It was all in a day’s work. As Operations Managers we are trained to go on to Metro lines to deal with incidents like this.
“Barry was thrilled to see him. It is lovely that he came back to thank us in person.
“We should also thank our own colleague, whose chicken we took from his packed lunch to entice the dog!”
Owner Barry Churchill from Choppington found out his dog had escaped shortly after arriving at work, and put an appeal out on social media asking for information.
He said: “I cannot thank the Metro staff enough for their efforts. I was frantic that day. It was a real ordeal. Alan and Louis have done a fantastic job. I’m enormously grateful. It could have turned out much worse.
“I’ve been keen to meet up with them, just to say a personal thank you. They were amazing and they are a credit to their employer.
“Bobby had barely been at the dog sitter’s half an hour when I got a call at work that he had got out of the house and ran away. I had to do my best to control my emotions, and I went to Facebook so that I could try and get people to help on there.
“People were sharing it around and I saw posts from people saying that they had seen a lost dog around the Jesmond Dene area, including a photo, so I knew that it was Bobby. I just felt like I didn’t know what to do, and I was so worried about Bobby and how he was doing. There was this huge wave of relief when I got him back.”