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Like one, that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
— Samuel Taylor
Coleridge,
The Rime of The Ancient Mariner
LONDON (UK) — It was a dank and musty air that
occupied the shadowy catacombs of the Underground, refracting strange
and grotesque apparitions upon every squirming crack in the 140-year-old
masonry. There in that forbidden labyrinth, the distant, plaintive
howl of a train heralded the awakening of a hairy creature. It
was... it was...
Mandy the dog.
So much for drama. This month the
RSPCA honored Mr. Mike Fennessy from Northwood, west London for his
life-saving action in rescuing a dog that had been trapped in the city's
extensive subway rail system.
UK's Ananova news service reports Mr. Fennessy, who operates the Victoria Line train,
had been told of a dog seen running along the tracks between Seven
Sisters and Finsbury Park in north London, where it had been hit by a
train. On December 28 of last year, with a full load of
passengers, the concerned train driver effected his own rescue
operation.
By driving slowly along the tracks and
keeping a keen eye out, he managed to locate the terrified animal, upon
which he radioed the Underground control and ordered them to cut off the
power to the rails. |
He describes: "I told passengers that
there was a dog in the tunnel and I then searched the tracks and moved
forward very slowly in my train.
"When I spotted her I got the
electricity turned off in case she got frightened and bolted on to the
track and electrocuted herself."
Finally, Mr. Fennessey climbed out of
his cab and collected the unidentified mutt. At the next station,
he personally cleaned the dog's wounds, which remarkably were not
critical, considering the frequency of trains traveling along the route.
The dog was treated and had to have an
ear removed, but she was otherwise healthy. She has since been adopted
by 74-year-old Doris Swatkins, from Wood Green, north London, who named her Mandy.
An award presentation is scheduled for
Mr. Fennessy at the Seven Sisters station where the heroic deed occurred.
Editor's note: This event maintains
the London Transport in the lead for The Scoop's "Dog-Friendliest Transit Authority of
the Year" award (see related stories below). Bravo!
Mr. Fennessy complimented the patience
and compassion of his passengers, saying: "Most of the passengers
were understanding about the minor delay of a few minutes, but one
person did say he couldn't believe all the trouble had been caused
because of a dog on the tracks."
That one person may or may not have
been pummeled senseless at the next station.
§§§
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