Outrage after Sydney Trains staff bury beloved dog killed on tracks
Staff had buried the pet next to the train tracks without scanning the microchip or reaching out to the devastated family.
A family has been left devastated after discovering their missing pet was hit by a train and buried in a shallow grave next to the tracks by station staff.
Dog owner Aimee was disturbed to find out that neither she, nor a local vet, was contacted by Sydney Train workers who found Tammy, despite her being microchipped and with ID tags. It was only through the works of a pet detective did she discover what happened to her beloved Jack Russell cross.
Anne-Marie Curry, who owns Arthur and Co. Pet Detectives, was brought in to help find out what had happened to the vulnerable rescue and was stunned by the discovery. "Some cases hit harder than others, this was one of them," she said.
Six-year-old dog Tammy escaped from her home in Sydney's Inner West on September 23 sparking a desperate search by family, friends and locals.
Community stepped in from the beginning of the search
Aimee desperately posted on local Facebook groups in search of Tammy and the local community rallied behind dog the owner.
"She is very small, timid and affectionate. We're very worried about little Tammy and we greatly appreciate any details you may have about her whereabouts," Aimee had shared across community pages, hoping to find out if people had seen her.
Aimee was then referred to Arthur & Co. Pet Detectives who began their search for the terrified six-year-old dog.
Reports flooded in after the team shared ads and posters to every corner of the internet. Hundreds of locals commented on, and shared posts, with many sightings of Tammy running around Sydney's Inner West.
One heartbreaking sighting came from a member of the public who said they'd seen a dog matching Tammy's description deceased on a train track near Sydenham station around 26 September.
Sydney Trains' burial meant difficulty identifying body
Following the lead, Ms Curry called Sydenham station managers soon after who confirmed what was reported. Staff said the body had been buried by them without scanning the microchip, checking for tags, or notifying local vets — so they could not confirm if it was Tammy.
Ms Curry and her team then spent days trying to get to the bottom of the identity of the buried dog but were continuously "met with road blocks" from station staff.
Eventually, they tried one final last ditch effort — they put up a community plea online to find contact details for Sydney Train personnel higher up.
Through the post, she was able to get the details of a senior member of Sydney Trains' leadership team who arranged for their staff to retrieve Tammy's body for inspecting.
Do you have a story about a pet you love? Contact reporter Laura Koefoed at laura.koefoed@yahooinc.com
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Tags and identification found on exhumed body
According to Ms Curry, once the dog's body was exhumed from beside the train tracks, it was left in a box there for her collection.
"The team at Southern Cross Veterinary Clinic immediately collected the box with [the] body on behalf of us," she told Yahoo.
It was then they discovered that the ID tags were in tact and with her body. And after scanning the microchip for final confirmation — devastatingly, it was confirmed to be Tammy.
Sydney Trains reviewing the way they deal with deceased pets
Yahoo reached out to Sydney Trains for comment following this traumatising incident. When pressed on their exact process for dealing with deceased pets they did not reveal their methods but have assured Yahoo and the community that they intend to improve on them.
"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 Chief Executive Matt Longland said.
This is something Ms Curry says is crucial.
"Lack of closure for pet owners is a haunting sentence. They spend their lives following up every lead of every dog just incase," she stated.
Community reactions have been scathing of Tammy's treatment
Hundreds of people have urged Sydney Trains to improve how they deal with deceased pets following the incident.
"Do better, Sydney Trains!!! Someone is grieving for the loss of their little dog!!" one person begged.
"They probably thought they were doing the decent thing by burying the dog rather than throwing in garbage. If procedures can be created then this won’t happen in the future," suggested another.
"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," replied a third.
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