Pip the pooch’s near miss with electric rail line at Waterloo train station

BY EMMA PENGELLY
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

A hero rail worker reunited Pip the pooch with his owners following the dog’s close encounter with an electrified rail carrying 750 volts of electricity.

Pip fled five miles north over five days from Tooting Bec Common where he had run away from a group of dogs.

The two-year-old crossbreed terrier was rescued from Waterloo railway station by an emergency intervention unit with only a couple of scrapes to show for his adventure.

Pip was rescued from the tracks by Network Rail mobile operations manager Tony Harkin who responds to trackside emergencies with a British Transport police officer. Tony said: “We spotted Pip right in the middle of the lines. We shouted for him, but the trains were moving in all directions. Pip was obviously scared.”

Pip ran towards Waterloo railway station and positioned himself next to a conductor rail so Tony blocked all trains coming into the platforms to avoid spooking Pip.

“He was lying beside the rail which carries 750 volts – you don’t get many second chances with that,” said Tony.

Tony managed to speak to him softly and slip the lead onto Pip before carrying him to owner Sarah Timms, 38, for a tearful reunion.

“That was the best point. I felt a bit emotional too as a dog owner myself,” added Tony.

The rescuers gave Pip and his owners a lift to Tooting vets where Pip was given the once over. Sarah’s husband Scott Hendrick said Pip seems back to his old self despite a few minor scratches, a bloodshot eye and losing a kilogram of weight.

Scott, 43, said: “It’s a total relief of stress and a huge weight off our shoulders. It’s been a difficult week to say the least so to have him back is amazing.

“Running through our minds was, what if we never see him again? It’s beyond our wildest dreams at this moment.”

The couple, from Tooting Broadway, took time off work to search for Pip. They heard Pip went missing at around 2pm on June 24 after he fled from a group of dogs he was walking with across the Common.

Scott said the flurry of advice and support from the public was amazing and the Facebook page to find Pip gained more than 200 followers in one week.

Scott said: “There were eyes on the ground from the moment he was lost. “So many people helped get Pip home. We wouldn’t have him home right now if it wasn’t for the huge community effort.

We will forever be grateful.”