Dog stuck on subway tracks may have got in via hole near TTC gate, owner says

The owner of the dog that died after being stuck in subway tracks near Davisville station claims her pet could have entered via a hole under a TTC gate.

Katie, a large German Shepherd, was discovered stuck beneath the third rail just south of the station on Tuesday. Toronto Animal Service personnel freed her from the tracks but her injuries were so severe that she had to be put down at a nearby veterinary hospital.

Katie’s last moments actually started much earlier, according to the dog’s owner.

Lisa Shanks told 680 NEWS that her husband Charles took their two dogs, including Katie, out to a park between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Charles said both dogs were spooked, probably because it was a very windy day.

While Katie was playing off-leash, Charles threw a ball and Katie ran for it, but then disappeared.

Charles looked for Katie on both St. Clair and Davisville avenues, couldn’t find her, and informed Shanks at 6:30 a.m. that the dog was gone.

Shanks says she called the city at 311 but they wouldn’t connect her to Animal Services because they said it didn’t open until 10:30 a.m.

“I called everyone,” Shanks said. “I called an emergency veterinarian clinic, my neighbours, local vets, and the microchip company, who alerted local vets and shelters.”

She called 311 again around 9:30 a.m., she said, and city officials noted that the dog was missing.

She called Animal Services again around 1:30 p.m. and says they were was dismissive, but took her name again and put her on hold.

They then told her they knew Katie was on the tracks and that the situation was dangerous.

“I ran to the station right away,” Shanks said.

“Officials gave me a vest to put on and contemplated whether to let me help get Katie. They asked me to sit on a train on the platform instead.”

In tears, Shanks explained to 680 NEWS that she didn’t know Katie was in such a bad state.

“What sticks out the most with me now is that I heard a TTC employee who said he saw the dog at 6:30 and tried to shoo the dog away.”

“I didn’t approach him and wished I had. I feel awful that I didn’t find out who that guy was.”

Brad Ross, the head of corporate communications at the TTC, confirmed that a train operator spotted an animal around 6:30 a.m. and reported it to TTC control. The operator believed the animal was a fox. Train operators often deal with foxes, coyotes, raccoons and squirrels on and near the tracks.

But when Shanks asked the TTC, she says they said they didn’t know anything until they found the dog at 1:18 p.m.

Bailey Scherbak, a resident who lives near Davisville station, says she first spotted the dog around the same time as the TTC employee.

She said she tried to get the dog’s attention and to grab the dog, but she couldn’t reach her. She called the Toronto Humane Society, who referred her to Toronto Animal Services.

Scherbak said she then went to the front desk office area, and told the attendant there that she saw a dog near the tracks. She said the attendant said he would try to find someone else to report it to.

Ross also confirmed that the company received a call at around 6:30 a.m. after someone spotted something that resembled a dog on the tracks.

Ross said TTC staff members searched the yard area following the reports, but were unable to find anything. There were no further sightings reported until the dog was spotted during a routine patrol five hours later. At about 1:30 p.m., service was immediately shut down to rescue Katie.

Ross says if they had confirmation that the dog was on the tracks at any time, they would have shut down service immediately.

Shanks said that the TTC employee in charge of incident reports said that Katie may have got in through a gate where employees get in and out of the yard.

Shanks’ husband went to check the area and spotted a hole under the gate, which Katie could have used to get in.

Shanks has asked the TTC for camera footage, but the TTC responded, saying the footage is only used for evidence in criminal matters and that it does not provide downloads to the public.

Ross told 680 NEWS that any cameras in the yard “may not be recorded, but rather monitored live.” Footage from cameras in public places, such as stations and vehicles, he said, are kept for 72 hours.

Shanks has a lawyer and is planning on asking the TTC again for any possible footage of what were some of Katie’s final moments.