Train Narrowly Avoids Puppy Tied to Tracks

A puppy in California is doing fine and is up for adoption after a very lucky escape. A train engineer spotted a man walking away from something left on train tracks in Riverside County and hit the emergency brakes just in time to avoid hitting a 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix that had been tied to the tracks, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A Union Pacific agent called to the scene arrested a 78-year-old man, who said his family didn't want the dog and didn't know what to do. The man was released to his family and the agent said he couldn't pursue animal cruelty charges "because the man appeared to be confused or senile and didn't fully understand what he had done." The puppy has been nicknamed "Banjo," for old railroad signals.