Puppy rescued after journey on top of train

A black Labrador puppy is lucky to be alive after being rescued from the top of a train car after a journey that had a mysterious beginning. No one knows how the puppy, who appears to be about 3 months old, ended up on top of the Norfolk Southern train that left Pennsylvania, and had already gone through Virginia and North Carolina on its way to Atlanta.

Tina Parker, of Pickens, said she and her family were driving home on Sunday night when they stopped at a red light by the Walmart store in Easley, S.C., as the train passed by. Parker said she spotted what she at first thought was trash on top of the train. But she said the "trash" started moving and she realized it was a puppy. Parker called 911 and then followed the train on to Liberty.



A Norfolk Southern spokeswoman said that they were alerted to stop the train. The spokeswoman said the train would have been travelling at about 50 mph. The Parker family helped spot which car in the long train the puppy was on top of. "The only thing we can think is probably somebody put her up there," Parker said.

The Liberty Fire Department arrived and used a ladder to reach the pup on the top of the Hunter boxcar. The cars carried double-stacked containers, making them about 20-feet tall. The wayward puppy has been taken in by the Parker family. "It's fate," Parker said. They have named the puppy Boxcar Hunter, or Boxy for short. She has an appointment for her first vet visit in about a week, but she seems healthy - and happy to be off the train.

With photo gallery. There's a news video here.