A video of a railway worker saving a puppy on TikTok has received 6.5 million views and is still increasing in popularity.
Many commuters were surprised to find a blue Staffordshire Terrier pup at the train station, raising suspicion that she had been abandoned. It turns out she was just a runaway; her family’s garage door had accidentally been left open.
On October 17 at 7 a.m., 56-year-old Paul Hawthorn was working in the booking hall of Leagrave Station in England when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the platform of an incoming train. Upon further inspection, he found that there was a frantic puppy running around without anyone to look after it. The pup was temporarily detained by a commuter but quickly managed to escape as the woman left to catch her own train.
(Image: tiktok.com/@getinthebarth)
When Hawthorn arrived on the platform, the pup who was feeling overwhelmed was again in danger.
Hawthorn said that when the animal leapt onto the tracks, they panicked but their training kicked in. They were then able to contact the signalman who was able to slow any oncoming trains.
I wasn’t allowed on the tracks, but I saw that someone from the coffee kiosk had some croissants. He held one out to a dog who couldn’t jump back up onto the platform. I quickly grabbed it and pulled it up before anything happened.
“I couldn’t simply let go or it would have gotten away again, so instead I held on until two kind strangers came along and helped me up.”
getinthebarth’s TikTok video doesn’t show the heroic rescue, but cuts straight from the frightened dog on the tracks to a heartwarming scene of Hawthorn cradling the grateful pup. The selfless man sits on the platform with the pooch happily perched in his lap, offering occasional ‘thank you’ licks.
Hawthorn learned that his new dog friend was somebody’s pet, not another abandoned animal as he had initially feared. The pup’s family had posted online asking for help finding her.
(Image: tiktok.com/@getinthebarth)
Hawthorn said, “It was quite traumatizing. I don’t own a dog, but we help people out by dog-sitting. When I saw the dog about to get hit by a train, all sorts of thoughts were running through my mind–I just felt awful for the animal. It worked out in the end though.”
“In the mess room, it was biting and tugging at my uniform. It was a lovely dog,” he added.
“Leagrave,” the rail company that operates trains at Leagrave, told Newsweek:
“Paul’s heroism saved this dog’s life. The Thameslink railway tracks are a dangerous place, but Paul’s quick thinking certainly made all the difference.