USUALLY it’s dogs that do the fetching, not the owners. But for one Twyford man and his dog, the old adage was turned on its head earlier this week.
Ian Wisdom had taken his pampered pet Fly for a walk to the village’s train station so he could get a train ticket.
But while Mr Wisdom was crossing the clerk’s palm with silver, his inquisitive pooch had decided to let the train take the strain. Fly was sniffing out the platform when a train arrived and he hopped on.
Mr Wisdom was buying tickets so he could take part in a Willy Waddle in London to raise funds for the male cancer charity Orchid. The event sees people take part in a pub crawl while dressed in inflatable penis costumes; he has experience of the waddle as it is an integral part of the Twyford Beer Festival which will be held at Stanlake Meadows on June 7 and 8.
When Mr Wisdom reported Fly missing, station staff didn’t even need to be offered a Scooby Snack before rushing into action.
Although they offered to stop all train services in case Fly was going walkies on the tracks, a concerned train passenger got on the dog and bone to alert station staff at Maidenhead that there was a four-legged friend on board.
Mr Wisdom said: “I was booking my ticket and Fly got on a train bound for London while I was occupied. Thankfully he was intercepted by the lovely team at Maidenhead Station.
“If it hadn’t been for a passenger raising the alarm, he could have ended up at Paddington.
“I’d really like to thank the team at Twyford and Maidenhead stations – they were great. The team at Maidenhead kept Fly safe in their office until I could catch the next train to join him.
“I really am grateful.”
Fly is none the worse for his solo adventure, but Mr Wisdom needed a calming drink to recover.