Lost bulldog hitches a ‘great’ train ride home

• A team of train workers spotted a dog named Sampson wandering the rails.
• They took him onto the train, where he enjoyed an almost three-hour ride before they found his owner through a social media post.
• Sampson’s dad was so grateful to the workers who helped his missing pup.

Hitting anything with a moving car is fearful enough, so how much more is hitting something with a fast-moving train?

This is exactly the fear of Long Island Railroad engineer Christian Beck, especially since it’s difficult to stop a speeding train.

One day, in a regular 10:10 am trip to Montauk, Christian and his teammates spotted an English bulldog named Sampson wandering on the tracks in Queens, New York. Fortunately, they were alert enough. Crew conductor Mike Stabile managed to slow the train down and safely stop.

Christian and assistant conductor Vinny Fragale got off the train to call the pup, who immediately hid from them.

Christian, who is very fond of dogs, recognized that the animal was scared and thirsty. He and Vinny lured Sampson to jump onto the train and gave him some water.

In those quick moments, the men got to know Sampson a bit — they knew he’s a naturally friendly pup!

Learning that he’s lost, they posted his picture on social media to seek help in locating his owner.

In the interim, Sampson took a joyride as he joined the team in their trip to Montauk, arriving right on schedule at 12:54 pm. In the more than two-hour ride, word reached Sampson’s human, building construction owner Mike Francow.

Eight years ago, Mike adopted Sampson. And ever since that day, the pair had developed a bond. Sampson even joins Mike wherever he goes and even at work.

That morning when Sampson was lost, Mike was just eating lunch when the pup started wandering off and went missing.

“He’s the type of dog that always returns,” Mike said. “He would usually come back to my van,” except for this time when Sampson wandered a bit too far for some reason. Probably, the dog only wanted to make some friends on the rails!

For hours, Mike searched for his dog before going back to work. Not long after, he heard about the news of a missing dog so he rushed to the train station to catch its return to Bridgehampton.

According to Mike, Sampson really loves to ride, so it was not surprising for him to know that the pup walked onto the train with complete strangers.

“He loves to ride, so I’m sure when the train pulled up and they opened the door he was like, ‘Sure, this is great,’” Mike explained.

Mike expressed his gratitude to the LIRR workers who took the time to help a lost dog. A bonus has even come along with that act of kindness — Sampson surely had the ride of his life!

Source: Inspire More