Sydney Trains have left a community outraged after a beloved dog was killed by a train, and without notifying the owners, employees buried the pet in a shallow grave next to the tracks.
Aimee sought out help from Arthur and Co. Pet Detectives after her six-year-old rescue, Tammy, escaped from her home on September 23. According to Yahoo!, Anne-Marie Curry — who owns the pet detective service — said the mission to recover the missing Jack Russell cross was a case that “hit harder than others”.
In a Facebook post, the pet detective service shared photos of the beloved pup to promote community awareness. In the post, it was mentioned that she was last seen wearing a “light pink collar with an ID tag and council registration tag”. It also noted that Tammy was microchipped, so if she was found without her collar, she could be identified through a scan.
As Aimee continued her search, posting photos of Tammy on community pages with hopes of a sighting from the public, on October 3, Arthur & Co. Pet Detectives made an update that was truly heartbreaking.
In the Facebook post, the organisation mentioned that a member of the public came forward with information about a dead dog who matched Tammy’s description.
“A member of the public came forward with information that a deceased dog matching Tammy’s description was found near the train tracks at Sydenham Station in the period of 25/09/23 – 27/09/23,” the post reads.
“We have spoken with one of the managers at Sydenham Station who confirmed the deceased dog did match Tammy’s description and that the dog was NOT scanned for a microchip nor advertised to the public to try and find the owners, and instead was buried somewhere next to the train tracks.”
Within the update, the pet detectives called for anyone with connections to senior staff at Sydney Trains to come forward. They also urged anyone who has a missing dog that is similar to Tammy to contact them, as the deceased pup was yet to be formally identified.
“It also might be Tammy and enquiries are continuing to be made with Sydney Trains but we aren’t getting too far other than it was the ‘Icons Team’ who attended and buried the deceased dog. Clearly, the ‘Icons Team’ need some feedback on how to more appropriately deal with a deceased dog that is clearly someone’s beloved pet,” the post continued.
Many people who came across the update on the pet detective page expressed their outrage at Sydney Trains and the way they handled the body of a deceased pet.
“That is dreadful. They need to be held accountable,” one person wrote.
“Do better, Sydney Trains!!! [angry emoji] Someone is grieving for the loss of their little dog!!” a second person commented
“So sad and wrong that they wouldn’t get the dog microchipped to check if there was a family missing this one — closure is important.” wrote a third.
Other folks stressed the importance of microchipping pets, as well as scanning for the microchips before burying deceased animals.
“How dare someone bury a dog that is not theirs! Seriously take [it] to the vet for microchip scanning! This is not OK. I’m heartbroken for the dog and owner/s,” another person added.
Speaking to Yahoo! Curry mentioned that a senior member of Sydney Train’s leadership team organised for staff to retrieve the deceased pup. She then added that the dog’s body was left in a box for her collection.
“The team at Southern Cross Veterinary Clinic immediately collected the box with [the] body on behalf of us,” Curry told the publication.
Once the microchip was scanned, the beloved pup was confirmed to be Tammy.
“We are deeply saddened to let you all know the deceased dog on the train tracks has been 100% confirmed as Tammy via a microchip scan,” a Facebook post reads from Arthur & Co. Pet Detectives.
“This is so very sad but we take some comfort in knowing that Tammy’s final resting place will not be in the location where she met her untimely, tragic end. Now, Tammy can be sent to the heavens and shepherded across the rainbow bridge lovingly and in the only way she deserves, with dignity.”
In a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV, Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland said that they’re working to improve their methods of handling the bodies of deceased pets.
“We are saddened to hear the news about Tammy,” he told PTV.
“Sydney Trains’ staff assisted in returning Tammy to her owner, providing closure for the family and the community.
“We understand this is a sensitive topic and we will continue to work with the local council, vets and the RSPCA to improve our methods for dealing with deceased pets found with identification in the rail corridor.
“Sydney Trains offers its condolences to Tammy’s family.”
In their final update — which was a beautiful tribute post to Tammy — Arthur and Co. Pet Detectives thanked Sydney Trains for acknowledging its wrongs.
“A sincere thank you also to Sydney Trains for stepping up to make things right and for acknowledging they need to do better. The CEO of Sydney Trains has assured us that prompt and meaningful change to their policy on how deceased pets are managed by Sydney Trains is coming off the back of this case ~ Tammy’s legacy,” the post reads.
“Fly high beautiful Tammy. We are so sad you left this world after you’d finally found your happily ever after. We hope you can now Rest in Eternal Peace.”
Image source: Facebook / Arthur and Co Pet Detectives
The post Sydney Trains Sparks Outrage For Burying A Dog Next To The Tracks After It Was Killed By A Train appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
