A dog named Kai was abandoned at a train station in Scotland with a suitcase of personal items after his owner tried, and failed, to sell him. Five years on, Kai’s new owner, Ian Russell, says that his beautiful pup has become something of a local celebrity.
“Everywhere I go, this guy gets recognized,” Russell told
The Telegraph.
On Jan. 2, 2015, a woman identified as 39-year-old mom Fin Rayner from Aberdeenshire left the shar-pei crossbreed alone at Ayr train station after deciding not to buy him. As per the
Daily Mail, Rayner claimed to the media that she had arrived at the train station with a view to purchasing Kai for 400 pounds (US$518) after seeing him listed for sale on a classifieds website.
Rayner arrived at the station with her daughter but quickly became skeptical that the young dog, previously named Pluto, was the same dog from the pictures in the classified ad. “I said I wanted to take the dog for a walk,” Rayner explained, as per the
Daily Record, “so [the owner] asked me for £150 as a deposit in case I didn’t come back.”
“Then I saw him tearing off in his car,” Rayner recalled. “I phoned and said, ‘You better come back for your dog.’ He never turned up.”
Rayner made the decision to leave Kai behind after concluding that he was unruly; Kai was “pulling on the lead and peeing everywhere,” the mother explained, adding, “I didn’t want him.”
Rayner told a member of the train station staff that Kai was not her dog, tied the pup to a station railing beside his suitcase of personal items—including a pillow, toy, food bowl, and dog food—and ran to catch her train to Aberdeen.
After Rayner left Ayr station, a passerby took pity on the abandoned dog and notified the Scottish SPCA in Glasgow. The SPCA promptly sent a representative to the station to collect Kai.
SPCA staff described the shar-pei cross, whose name was identified from an outdated microchip, as an “absolute sweetheart,” as per
ITV News. However, despite his gentle temperament, it soon transpired that Kai needed expensive surgery for inward-curling eyelids, a treatable condition that was causing him chronic discomfort.
An SPCA fundraising drive raised an incredible 2,500 pounds (US$3,238) from generous donors toward Kai’s medical expenses.
“This appears to have been a sale over the internet which has gone wrong,” SPCA’s Stewart Taylor commented, as per the
Daily Mail, “and an example of the potential dangers of buying a pet online without knowing an animal’s background.”
“[Kai’s] sad story has touched the hearts of animal lovers all over the world,” Taylor continued, “and we have been overwhelmed with kind messages and offers of new homes.”
One offer in particular stood out from the rest. Hydraulics engineer Ian Russell, having lost his 15-year-old dalmatian just weeks previously, was moved by media coverage of Kai’s ordeal and went to make a donation at his local SPCA center. At the same time, he filled out an adoption questionnaire.
“I never thought in a million years I'd get him,” said Russell, then 52, as per the
Daily Mail. “I honestly think it was meant to be.”
Kai went home with Russell just one month after being rescued from Ayr train station with his bag of personal belongings. Almost five years later, Russell and Kai are truly inseparable.
“I was up Ben Nevis a few weeks ago,” Russell told
The Telegraph, waxing lyrical about his and Kai’s adventurous, outdoorsy life together. “[T]here was plenty of snow up there. A girl just walked up and said, ‘Excuse me, is that the dog who got left at the station?’”
“[Kai] loves pampering,” Russell added, “he knows basically he’s a bit of a celebrity, so when he meets people now he almost expects to get a wee treat or something.”
Today, Russell and his canine companion run marathons together to raise money for the Scottish SPCA’s ongoing work. “Raising funds for the Scottish SPCA is what it’s all about,” Russell explained to
The Dodo. “I was lucky enough to rehome Kai, and really want to give something back.”
