OUR SON DIED IN RAIL HORROR TO SAVE DOG

Daily Record ^ | December 16, 2005 | Mark Mcgivern

[tet68]

I love cats too - they're great if you cook them right.


So many cats, so FEW recipes.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh there's a whole lot of smug self-righteousness goin' on... but I don't think the worst of it is coming from me :~D

[mcg1969]

Well, if you think it's self-righteous to suggest that it was stupid for this guy to risk his own life and abandon his fiancee and child to save a damn dog...

...then guilty as charged.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good night.

[RightWinger]

That's sad & stupid.
I love my dog very much but I'm not going to die to save her.
My wife, on the other hand, may not share my choice.

[Capriole]

'Steven rang his brother Ian to say he was trying to catch the dog.

Ian, 26, said: "He said the dog was on the loose and he had spotted him on the railway track.'

Doesn't sound like a suicide. Sounds like a guy trying to catch his beloved dog and never dreaming he could really get killed doing so.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

What a reasonable, well thought out reply. What are you doing on Free Republic? We don't get many of those on here anymore. I hope you stick around.

A lot of posters on Free Republic recently seem to delight in just being down right mean and ugly. Thanks for breaking the trend.

[SamAdams76]

I know what you mean about how easy it is to misjudge trains. There was a railroad bridge that I used to cross when I was a Marine stationed in Camp Pendleton. I used to cross over it whenever I walked into nearby Oceanside. One time as I was walking across it, a train came up behind me. Realizing that it was too late to outrun the train to the other side of the bridge, I moved up against the railing of the bridge. As the train got closer, I realized that there was only going to be inches to spare as the train passed me so I climbed over the railing and clung to the outside instead. Of course, the train lets off an ear-splitting whistle as it passes, which almost causes me to let go and send me tumbling a good 30 feet to the ground below.

I don't think I ever crossed that bridge again!

[Texas Eagle]

His mum Catherine said: "To think that Steven died trying to save a dog seems crazy. But that is the kind of person he was. He wasn't thinking of himself."

I'm sorry, but that's just plain dumb.

[Jigsaw John]

Looks like a poor attempt to cover up a suicide.

That has a tendency to void life insurance contracts.

[Capriole]

The other thing people don't realize is that in certain conditions a fast-moving train can be almost silent. I have no idea what the physics involved are, but a train can come up like a ghost. You turn around and there are these blinding lights, confusing you, and then it's too late. . .

[mad_as_he$$]

Food the answer is food. Or of course let Salty play on the tracks - depending on the depth of your frustration. In all seriousness you need to become the head dog. That is most easily accomplished by dictating the terms of chow to the dog. He gets to eat when you let him and he must wait politely to do it. Fill the bowl and stand guard over it until he gets the message. Also, do not let him on your lap, furniture or bed - except on your terms. Short answer - lots on the net to study. Bottom line if you ain't the head dog forget it.

[Fishrrman]

Obadiah writes:
Yeah, that's the funny thing. It is hard to imagine an otherwise normal dog would simply sit on a railroad track with a load, rumbling train bearing down on it. Something doesn't add up here in this story. I think you may be right, this is just a plausible story floated to cover up a suicide.

No, sir, you're the one who's dead wrong on this issue.

I run trains for a living (26 years going on 27), and have killed enough dogs to know EXACTLY how they behave, one and all.

If a dog happens to be between the rails, and a train is approaching, the dog is almost certainly going to die. It won't be able to get off the tracks.

Instead, the dog will almost instinctively begin to _run away from you_ down the tracks, and will not cross either rail. It will continue to run ahead of you until you strike it down.

I can only speculate why dogs behave in this manner (as an aside, almost all other animals will take off at right angles to the track as a train bears down on them). I will GUESS and say that the approaching train's wheels create a high-pitched "singing" in the rails that the dog is sensitive to, and the painful noise on either side of the dog keep it centered between the rails as it runs. It's as if the noise "blocks its escape" to either side.

I've seen a dog behave this way with a train going only 10mph. Just trots ahead of you and won't cross out of the way. In that case, it was an Amtrak train just out of New Haven, Connecticut. I had a road foreman riding with me that day, and he actually got off the engine and chased the dog away, because it wasn't going on its own. I wasn't going to run the dog down at 10mph, but we might have followed it a mile or more that day!

When you're running at speed, chances are you're going to get the dog. Maybe not 100%, but at least 85-90% of the time.

Warning to any Freeper reading this who owns a dog: If you value that dog's life, never, NEVER take it on or near any busy railroad track. If the dog gets _on_ the tracks, and if a train comes, it's probably going to die.

- John

[mcg1969]

He was a brave man reacting to a situation,

Brave is debatable. Stupid is not. Anyone who lives even close to the train tracks knows how dangerous it is and how often people underestimate the time they have to get away.

it doesn't always work out.

And when someone jumps off a tall building and tries to land on their feet, it doesn't always work out, either. But we don't commend them for their bravery, do we?

It's a shame his act is being picked at by people that don't understand the power of the impulse to action.

I quite understand the impulse to action, and I have the metal in my formerly shattered femur to prove it. It was a stupid stunt that landed me in the hospital (skiing clearly above my skill level) and I thank God it didn't cost me my life. I'm lucky.

No, the shame is that he did it in the first place. Just like the little girl a number of months ago that darted out into traffic to save a little squirrel. It is truly tragic. But we need to teach children---and, apparently, adults---not to have SUCH strong attachments to their pets that they would put their lives at such risk for them. Obviously we can have affection or love for them, but to put one's life at such risk for a pet---that is simply too strong a commitment.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

"And when someone jumps off a tall building and tries to land on their feet, it doesn't always work out, either. But we don't commend them for their bravery, do we?"

Not a good comparison. Who or what was the person jumping off the building trying to save? If nothing or nobody then yes, not a wise thing to do. If they jumped off the building trying to save their own lives or perhaps the life of a baby they had in their arms and trying to escape a fire, then yeah, that might be considered bravery.

[mcg1969]

A VERY good point. You didn't include in your scenarios, however, the possibility of jumping off the building simply to save a dog. (Let's assume it is not necessary to jump off the building to save himself; after all, this man did not need to jump in front of the train, either.) Would you consider that bravery? I wouldn't, and I don't think that anyone with a proper understanding of the unequal relationship of man to animals would, either.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

Now that ones a little tougher. However, being an animal person I would probably act on instinct to try and save an animal I loved before I even thought of the possible consequences. That doesn't make me an idiot, just human. I think most people in split second circumstances like that react on gut instincts. The adrenalin kicks in and the next thing you know you've done something that others might think foolish but I think is just human.

[Judith Anne]

I own English Mastiffs, who's ancient history crosses with Staff's, and I'm constantly on the lookout for over zealous local politicians.

Are you breeding them? Just curious, because I got Hub a American Mastiff for his birthday last year. Click on my screen name to see his photo.

American Mastiffs are from a former OEM breeder who had a fortuitous outcross with an Anatolian generations ago. You can see them at http://www.flyingwfarms.com.

[mcg1969]

That doesn't make me an idiot, just human.

Yes, indeed: but to err is human. And that's what this was: not an act of bravery, but a mistake.

I think most people in split second circumstances like that react on gut instincts. The adrenalin kicks in and the next thing you know you've done something that others might think foolish but I think is just human.

Well, I shared one of my adrenaline-fueled mistakes above, so I certainly know at least some of the potential consequences. What I'm suggesting is that this is something we ought not be heralding as a good thing. Nobody applauded by bravery or courage when I took a ski jump I had no business taking, landed square on my hip, and shattered my femur---nor should they have. Likewise, I think we ought to use these incidents as a reminder to place our animal companionship well below our human companionship---particularly when one of those humans is our dependent.

I know it's a tough line to draw, but when things like this happen, it just illustrates the truth of it. Had his finacee or child been the one he tried to save, he would have unequivocally have done the right thing. But a dog, no matter how cherished, ought not be given that same level of attachment to provoke such a hasty, risky action.