Furtastic Series Banner

This dog's heartwarming rescue from a New York subway tunnel will bring you happy tears

The dog got loose at a nearby park and ran to a familiar place: The New York City subway.
 By 
Brian Koerber
 on 

One lucky pup found compassiom in a most unlikely place: The New York City subway.

Dakota, aka Loppy the dog, was playing with her dog walker at a park in Brooklyn on Friday when the pooch managed to escape. Frightened, the poor pup ran to a place that she knew -- the Jay St. station -- and ended up inside the dangerous subway tunnel.

"It’s a familiar place for her, we commute together every day. She entered, ran across the platform, and at some point either fell or jumped in," Dakota's owner, Caroline Francis, posted to her Facebook.

The NYC subway runs off of an electrified third rail, so once notified, workers shut the trains down and cut power to the subway in order to save the dog.

After over an hour of searching, Francis says that things were looking "devastatingly bleak." She begged the MTA to let her onto the tracks to help search the miles of subway tunnels.

"Then a miracle happened," Francis wrote. "An MTA officer took it upon herself to explore the tracks several stations away. And, against all odds, she found Loppy."

Francis says the pup was bloodied, cold, dirty, and terrified, but miraculously OK.

"The joy I felt when the police officer showed me a photo and said 'is this her?' was all-consuming," she wrote. "Being reunited with this little creature is something more powerful than I can explain."

The dog suffered some lung damage, lost a few teeth, and fractured her jaw, according to the New York Daily News. She is currently being treated at Pearl Blue hospital, but is expected to make a speedy recovery.

MTA Supervisor Sanya Hill, who found the pup about a mile away from where she entered the subway, says she spotted Loppy curled up at the back of the subway platform.

“I had my flashlight out and I was looking and then I saw the dog,” Hill told the News. “I didn't want her to bite me, I didn't want to scare her any more than she was. She was already shaking and already curled up all the way to the back of the platform.”

'They saved my best friend.'

Francis ended her Facebook post with a heartwarming message to all of the New Yorkers who likely complained for hours about how their commute was interrupted.

"New York can feel like a cold, hard city," Francis wrote. "But this city—the NYPD and MTA in particular—rallied around me at my darkest hour. They saved my best friend. That warmth and support moves me in a way I can’t explain. To all the commuters who got stuck for 60+ minutes, know that your sacrifice saved her life—thank you. I've been so touched by all who have reached out with kind words."

Topics Animals

photo of brian
Brian Koerber

Brian was the Culture Editor and has been working at Mashable on the web culture desk since 2014.

Mashable Potato

More from Furtastic

Recommended For You
Why so many people hate Ring's 'Search Party' Super Bowl ad
an old woman posts a missing dog flyer on a telephone pole


'The Audacity' tears Silicon Valley a new one: Review
Billy Magnussen in "The Audacity."

OpenAI to finally bring ads to ChatGPT
Photo illustration of the chatgpt logo on a smartphone. The same logo can be seen faded in the background


Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 4, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

NYT Strands hints, answers for April 3, 2026
A game being played on a smartphone.
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!