New York rail workers rescue loose dog on the tracks

March 29 (UPI) -- A pair of commuter rail workers in New York came to the rescue of a dog spotted running loose on the tracks -- and the canine's owner.

Errol Bros, a signal supervisor for the Metro-North Railroad, and signal operator Christopher Paci said they were working about a mile west of Old Greenwich station when a train engineer spotted a man running across the tracks and slammed on the brakes.

"My partner and I decided to see what was going on. We see a guy running on the side of the tracks, which is unusual," Bros told WNBC-TV.

The men soon spotted the man and realized he was chasing after a loose dog.

"We made sure no trains were coming and started running down the tracks, yelling for the dog to come," Paci said.

The men said it was a lucky thing that they had time to attempt the rescue.

"Lucky for him, at that particular time, there wasn't a train coming for a few minutes, which is very rare, especially in the Greenwich area," Bros said.

Bros and Paci were able to corral the canine, named Pepper, and reunited the dog and owner.

"The dog came over, laid down. We picked it up and walked right over," Paci said.

The workers received praise from Metro-North President Cathy Rinaldi, who cautioned other pet owners not to emulate the actions of Pepper's owner.

"I would have called the police, police have a direct line to us," Rinaldi said. "They can get the traffic stopped in the area."

The dog was not the first animal to find itself on the tracks in New York. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority brought in an animal rescue expert when train operators reported spotting a cat on the D line subway tracks in the Bronx in 2020.

The cat, dubbed Big Al by the MTA, was caught in a trap set by the expert in an area used by trains to turn around. The feline was taken to Bronx Tails Cat Rescue.