A speedy mutt saw a Metro-North commuter train passing by in New York City on Tuesday and evidently decided to challenge the 400-ton machine to a race. Bounding down a parallel track through the South Bronx, the stray dog raced alongside the train all the way to Manhattan, at times getting ahead before chasing behind to catch up. Although she stumbled between the ties -- the rectangular supports on railroad tracks -- a couple of times, the dog made it between boroughs unscathed.
"She was just running like she didn't have a care in the world," the train's engineer, Joseph Delia, told the New York Post. "The dog was in front of me, running in front... I was going real slow...She's not a very big dog. I was worried she wouldn't make it and get electrocuted."
Delia, a self-professed dog-lover, contacted the Metro Transit Authority police and the rail's command center to let them know about the canine on the line. And, conscientious of his passengers, Delia also made an announcement letting everyone on board know why the train was creeping along the tracks.
"They were hooting and hollering," Delia said of the passengers, who flocked to the windows to watch the dog leap from tie to tie. "They were all cheering."
When the train arrived at 125th Street station in Harlem, the dog raced some more -- this time from the tracks and into the arms of MTA police officers awaiting her arrival. The dog, who has since been named Tie, is currently being cared for by the city's Animal Care and Control center, which is looking for her owner. If her owner can't be found, the brave pup will be put up for adoption and on her way to a new home.
Photos via Gothamist.
