Woman Finds Black Lump Of Fur On Train Tracks And Knows Just What To Do

“He was so scared”

When Suzette Hall heard about a dog sleeping on an active railway, she knew he needed help right away. According to the Good Samaritan who called into Hall’s rescue, Logan’s Legacy, the dog's family left him on the tracks a week prior, and he wouldn’t budge from the spot where he last saw them.

Hall grabbed a humane dog trap and some food to lure the dog inside. She raced to the railroad and scoured the area until she saw a black, furry lump in the center of the tracks.

“He would get up and walk away from the track, and then go right back literally to the middle,” Hall told The Dodo. “I was so scared that he was gonna get hit by a train."

The rescuer got as close as she could to the scared pup without causing him any more stress. She placed her trap on the tracks and set some food inside. She then stepped away from the train tracks and waited.

It didn’t take long for the Labrador-mix, whom Hall called Soldier, to pick his head up and sniff in the direction of the crate. He’d gone a week without eating and was desperately hungry. He soon stood up and made his way over to the trap.

“He went in so fast,” Hall said. “He was starving.”

With Soldier secured in the crate, Hall brought the pup back to her car and drove straight to her local vet. Aside from being skinny, the survivor pup was covered in scratches and small wounds from being outside for so long.

“We got him to my vet and got him everything he needed,” Hall said. “He was such a good boy. But he was so scared.”

Soldier recovered from his wounds quickly and was soon eligible for foster care. But the pup was incredibly shy and lacked socialization, which made it difficult to find the right home for him.

His caregivers at Logan’s Legacy tried to help build his confidence by taking him to training classes at first, but he was still too shy to be fostered. They enrolled him in doggy day care, but he still had a hard time coming out of his shell.

After seven months of trying to secure a foster family for Soldier with no luck, Hall decided to reach out to a partner rescue, Labradors and Friends Dog Rescue, to help get his story out to a wider audience.

“Finally, he found a foster family,” Hall said. “And they fell in love with him, so they ‘foster failed.’”

Not only did Soldier find a foster family after seven months, but they quickly became his forever family, too. And he is thriving in his new home.

“When he got into the home, he turned into the most non-scared dog ever,” Hall said. “He’s playing with toys and being a dog for the first time.”

Now, the 2-year-old pup has his very own bed to curl up in and a family who loves him the way he’s always deserved. As the only dog in the house, Soldier gets all the attention, and he loves every minute of it. And he’s settled into his new life just in time for the holidays.

“Now he’s home for Christmas,” Hall said.