Irish Rail are appealing to members of the public to have their adventurous train loving dogs chipped, after dealing with an influx of train-loving canines.
Two lonesome dogs captured the attention of the public in the past couple of weeks after turning up at Heuston train station in Dublin without their owners in tow.
The nation went into meltdown when a black and tan terrier pup, nicknamed Hamish but whose real heavyweight name was Tyson, boarded a commuter train in Co Kildare and ended up in Dublin.
The train taken was the rush hour service between Sallins and Heuston, which stopped off at Hazelhatch, Adamstown, Clondalkin and Parkwest before reaching its final destination, where the collarless dog decided to disembark.
After receiving a caring veterinary inspection, it was revealed that Tyson was not microchipped, meaning it was going to be difficult to locate his owners.
Irish Rail went on to launch a social media campaign in a bid to ensure the intrepid traveller made a safe return home.
Irish Rail issues appeal after ANOTHER lost dog turns up at Heuston Station
His family were eventually tracked down in Sallins where the cheeky pup boarded the commuter train, but not before several people came forward claiming they were the rightful owner of Tyson, such was the outpouring of love for him.
Just a few short days following the nationwide appeal to reunite the loveable pup with his family another terrier turned up at the same station.
He didn’t hang around for long though as he wanted to go off on his travels - that time by paws alone.
Irish Rail are now urging the public to microchip their dogs so they do not end up in a pound if their owners cannot be found.
A spokesperson said: “We always love to have our fury dog friends come to pay a visit at our stations such as Tyson who is now doing well back at home after spending time with us.
“But our staff end up having to spend a lot of time caring for them and attempting to find who they belong to. Several turn-up every year. It’s a worry for us as obviously we want to ensure the dogs are well looked after but also want to find their distraught owners as quickly as possible.
Irish Rail finds Hamish the dog's owners - and his real name is very different
“We feel we have to appeal to the public to microchip their dogs in case they go on train trips or turn up at our stations nationwide alone. Several dogs arrive at our stations alone annually and we want to ensure they depart accompanied and happy.
“It is time consuming trying to re-unite dog and owners especially when we find out they are not microchipped or have no identifying collar on them.
“The last thing we want is for any of the dogs to end up in a pound as no-one is happy with that. We always do our best to stop that from happening but we also need the help of dog owners and they need to microchip them in case they go walk about alone.”
The spokesperson added that Irish Rail do not want any of their canine non-paying friends to have a ruff ride.
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