Dog Hops on Bus to Escape Coyotes

May 4th 2009

Thank goodness for public transportation.

Duke, a 16-month old Australian cattle dog, found himself in a perilous pickle last week as two coyotes circled the pickup truck he was hiding under. Luckily, he was spotted by an alert bus driver trundling along her usual route in Calgary, Canada.

"He was breakfast for two hungry coyotes," bus driver Dawn Hagel told the Vancouver Sun. Warning her passengers to brace for a "non-paying passenger," Hagel stopped the bus and opened its doors. Duke jumped aboard bleeding from bites to his hind legs. "He was in in a heartbeat," Hagel said.

Duke's owner, Hugh Magill, who had spent two hours looking for his dog, was grateful for Duke's safe return."I thought I was just going to find remains," Magill confessed. Earlier that morning, Magill had been walking Duke and another dog, Ranger, through a wooded off-leash area when a huge coyote ran over and taunted the dogs. The dogs gave chase, but only Ranger returned when Magill called them.

"I got Duke from an animal rescue in High River called Heaven Can Wait, and I think that name kind of tells this story," Magill mused. "Heaven can wait for Duke." And so can the bus.