Vancouver councillor adopts 10-year-old dog known for chasing the SkyTrain
A Vancouver City Councillor has adopted a 10-year-old Golden Retriever known for getting stuck in the Canada Line train tracks.
Over three years ago, Moishi, who is a service dog, was with his owner while getting on the Canada Line SkyTrain at the Broadway-City Hall station. His owner boarded the train, but the doors shut before Moishi could get on.
His owner had let go of the leash, but Moishi still jumped onto the tracks to chase after the train. Luckily, he was rescued unscathed.
Vancouver city councillor and mayoral candidate Rebecca Bligh said she first heard of this story because Moishi was taken to the West King Edward Animal Clinic, where her daughter happens to work.
“I just thought, ‘What a hero,'” she said in an interview with Daily Hive. “[It] speaks so much to the devotion and dedication of service animals.”
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Bligh added that the story highlights the importance of ensuring that people with accessibility needs and their service dogs have the opportunity to board trains first.
The adoption story
Moishi’s owner suddenly passed away on May 11 of this year, which Bligh once again learned from her daughter at the vet clinic. Moishi went to the hospital with his owner on the day she passed, and sat with hospital security for a few hours until he was picked up and taken to the Vancouver Animal Shelter, a service run by the City of Vancouver.
Bligh said she and her family had lost their previous dog about 18 months ago, and were already looking for a dog. They had been visiting the Vancouver Animal Shelter to potentially adopt a rescue.
“And so my daughter alerted me to Moishi’s situation,” she said.
Once it was confirmed that Moishi didn’t have a next-of-kin to go to, Bligh was able to adopt him officially. She picked him up on May 19.
Bligh said, “He is just the sweetest dog.”
“We’re just completely amazed every day. He gives so much love, he is wonderful with other animals, and we feel like we’ve seriously hit the jackpot in being able to give him some comfort in his final years. But he gives so much back already, and it’s a really special and quite instant bond our family already has with Moishi.”