Worker Hailed A 'Hero' For Rescuing Dog From Tracks As Train Approached

A railway station employee has been called a "hero" after he rescued a dog from the tracks.

Paul Hawthorn, 56, from Luton, southeast England, went viral on TikTok after he saved a young female Staffordshire bull terrier at Leagrave station at about 7 a.m. on October 17.

In the clip, which has been watched 1.7 million times, TikTok user getinthebarth said a train was coming while the young pooch could be seen frantically running around on the tracks.

Fortunately, seconds later, Hawthorn was seen holding onto the dog on the platform. The clearly pleased pooch licked her rescuer as a thank you.

TikTok user getinthebarth captioned the video: "People dump dogs at stations like this all the time. For every evil person, there is a kind-hearted one."

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, some 6.3 companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. The number of pets entering U.S. shelters each year has declined from 7.2 million in 2011.

Hawthorn later told Newsweek that he had been in the booking hall when someone told him that a dog was running around on the platform for the London-bound train.

He ran down and found a woman who had managed to get hold of the dog, but left to catch her train—at which point the excitable pooch wriggled free.

Hawthorn said: "Then my worst fear was realized as it jumped down on the tracks. I was thinking 'What should I do?' and then my training kicked in. I rang the signalman to caution the trains, getting them to slow down ready to stop if necessary.

"I'm not allowed to go down on the track but the guy from the coffee kiosk on the platform there had some croissants and enticed the dog over to the platform edge. It couldn't jump back up but as it put its paws up to get the croissant I managed to grab it and haul it up onto the platform.

"I couldn't let go—it would have wriggled free again—so I just held on and two people came along and hauled me up to my feet."

Hawthorn later took the dog to the staff mess room and learned someone had posted about a missing dog online.

Despite the TikTok comment about dogs being dumped, this young dog had in fact escaped after a garage door had been left open.

Hawthorn said: "It was quite traumatic at the time. I don't own a dog but we help people out by dog sitting and I just felt sorry for the dog. I thought, 'oh my God, it's going to get run over by a train.' It worked out all right in the end, it was a relief.

"In the mess room, it was play-biting with my uniform. It was a lovely dog."

The overwhelming majority of TikTok commenters praised Hawthorn for rescuing the dog.

One posted: "You absolute hero. Thank you."

Another wrote: "This man is a hero. Thank you so much. The way the dog kisses him. Evil people in this world to do that, heartbreaking."

A third commenter posted: "It breaks my heart that people just dump animals. If you don't want them at least take them to a shelter. It's just so cruel. Thank you to that hero."

The rail company that operates trains at Leagrave is Thameslink. Its customer services director Jenny Saunders told Newsweek: "Paul's a real Thameslink hero. The railway tracks are a dangerous place and his quick thinking certainly saved this dog's life."

Newsweek has contacted TikTok user getinthebarth for comment.

Correction 10/19/22, 7:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Paul Hawthorn's name and to add a new photo.