P
philip
Here is a great little story!
If cats have 9 lives, this dog has at least 3
If country music artist Boxcar Willie were alive today, he might be
inspired to write a song about Railroad Joe. Joe is a wee dachshund from Rosemount who earned his nickname recently,
after running away from owners Tom and Cindy Caruth. The stubby-legged dog took up life on the tracks and made a legend of himself by getting run over by freight trains at least three times in five days -- twice by the same conductor.
The steel wheels nipped one of his floppy ears and sliced off part of his tail. But each time he ducked low enough between the rails for the trains to clear him. "It's hard telling how many trains went over that poor little dog," said Union Pacific conductor Terry Vanderlinden of Hastings.
Vanderlinden thought he killed Joe the first time he ran over him in early November at railroad milepost 334, about a mile from the Caruths' home and near the Flint Hills oil refinery. "We saw him, and he was feisty. He was barking at us," Vanderlinden said.
"I said, 'Oh boy, this is bad.' We just mowed him down." The incident happened on Nov. 1 as Vanderlinden was heading to Mason City, Iowa, hauling coal.
Five days later, he was riding the tracks in the opposite direction, heading for South St. Paul. He spotted Joe on the tracks within a mile of where he first encountered him. "We couldn't believe it. It was the same brown dog with a green tag, only this time he's not feisty," Vanderlinden said. "We plowed him down once again. "This time, Vanderlinden circled back to the area in his own vehicle. After walking on the tracks, he
found Joe shivering in weeds beyond the riprap, near starvation.
"He was bones when I found him," the train conductor said.
Tom Caruth, a vice president in the corporate trust department at U.S. Bank in St. Paul, said his family's 3-year-old pet "looked like a wet rat" when they were reunited via the tag on the dog's
collar. "He laid by our fireplace for two straight days," Caruth said. "His tail's a little shorter now. But he's fine."
Cindy Caruth said her family was moved by Vanderlinden's effort to look for Joe. The dachshund is a cherished playmate of the Caruths' 5-year-old daughter, Sammie. "She loves to dress him up in doll clothes," Cindy Caruth said. "There were tears. She was very upset" when he went missing.
Vanderlinden said the kicker to Railroad Joe's story came after he
returned the dog to safety. He discovered that the dog also was run over by another Union Pacific conductor near the oil refinery.
"You see so many possums who don't make it after we plow over them, but this little guy did," Vanderlinden said.
Tony Kennedy
Author
If cats have 9 lives, this dog has at least 3
If country music artist Boxcar Willie were alive today, he might be
inspired to write a song about Railroad Joe. Joe is a wee dachshund from Rosemount who earned his nickname recently,
after running away from owners Tom and Cindy Caruth. The stubby-legged dog took up life on the tracks and made a legend of himself by getting run over by freight trains at least three times in five days -- twice by the same conductor.
The steel wheels nipped one of his floppy ears and sliced off part of his tail. But each time he ducked low enough between the rails for the trains to clear him. "It's hard telling how many trains went over that poor little dog," said Union Pacific conductor Terry Vanderlinden of Hastings.
Vanderlinden thought he killed Joe the first time he ran over him in early November at railroad milepost 334, about a mile from the Caruths' home and near the Flint Hills oil refinery. "We saw him, and he was feisty. He was barking at us," Vanderlinden said.
"I said, 'Oh boy, this is bad.' We just mowed him down." The incident happened on Nov. 1 as Vanderlinden was heading to Mason City, Iowa, hauling coal.
Five days later, he was riding the tracks in the opposite direction, heading for South St. Paul. He spotted Joe on the tracks within a mile of where he first encountered him. "We couldn't believe it. It was the same brown dog with a green tag, only this time he's not feisty," Vanderlinden said. "We plowed him down once again. "This time, Vanderlinden circled back to the area in his own vehicle. After walking on the tracks, he
found Joe shivering in weeds beyond the riprap, near starvation.
"He was bones when I found him," the train conductor said.
Tom Caruth, a vice president in the corporate trust department at U.S. Bank in St. Paul, said his family's 3-year-old pet "looked like a wet rat" when they were reunited via the tag on the dog's
collar. "He laid by our fireplace for two straight days," Caruth said. "His tail's a little shorter now. But he's fine."
Cindy Caruth said her family was moved by Vanderlinden's effort to look for Joe. The dachshund is a cherished playmate of the Caruths' 5-year-old daughter, Sammie. "She loves to dress him up in doll clothes," Cindy Caruth said. "There were tears. She was very upset" when he went missing.
Vanderlinden said the kicker to Railroad Joe's story came after he
returned the dog to safety. He discovered that the dog also was run over by another Union Pacific conductor near the oil refinery.
"You see so many possums who don't make it after we plow over them, but this little guy did," Vanderlinden said.
Tony Kennedy
Author
