Dog spent 2 days in Caltrain tunnel in San Francisco before being rescued
A runaway rescue dog survived two days trapped inside a dark San Francisco railway tunnel. Crews finally pulled the frightened pup to safety on a Tuesday.
Roo, a 2-year-old pit bull mix, disappeared just days after being adopted. He was eventually spotted by Caltrain operators hunkered down inside a Potrero Hill rail tunnel.
The first day train operators saw him and thought he was a dead animal. The second day a driver saw him move. He was so still they thought he had been hit by a train and was injured.
The San Francisco Animal Care and Control, known as SFACC, shared this account in a video posted on Instagram.
Officers went inside the tunnel to rescue Roo. Animal control officers teamed up with Caltrain staff to venture into the pitch-black tunnel. They were determined to retrieve the terrified dog.
Officer Pone and Officer Borg went into the dark tunnel with Caltrain staff to find the dog. It turns out he had not been hit by a train. He was just scared and hunkered down there for two days.
SFACC shared these details as well.
Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman said the bizarre rescue is far from typical. He told The San Francisco Chronicle that this is pretty unlikely. Typically dogs do not like spending time around trains.
Trains are loud and scary. They are usually not hanging out around them.
Roo had bolted in a panic shortly after being adopted. But his microchip ultimately helped reunite him with his owner.
SFACC is the city’s taxpayer-funded animal shelter. It provides housing and medical care for stray, lost, abandoned, sick, injured, and surrendered animals.
The rescue comes just weeks after the shelter saved a goose that was struggling to swim at a local park. Officers brought the bird back to the shelter. There it received treatment.
