(The following story by John Brewer appeared on the Pioneer Press website on December 28.)
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The owners of Ice Train, a Siberian husky found frozen to railroad tracks in western Wisconsin last week, have come forward, but not necessarily to claim their dog.
“They have not yet decided whether they want him,” said Melissa Nelson, adoption co-ordinator for the Chippewa County Humane Association.
She said the Chippewa Falls family — a mother, father and young daughter — visited with her and Ice Train (real name “Nobie”) Tuesday morning after finding out Friday night about the 1-year-old dog’s whereabouts.
The husky was found the morning of Dec. 19 by a passing construction worker. With the help of a police officer and an animal control officer, the dog was freed shortly before a train came through.
Rescuers named him Ice Train and took him to the shelter.
The owners live about a mile and a half from the tracks where the dog was stuck.
The family told Nelson they received the dog as a gift a couple of months ago and quickly found out they weren’t quite prepared. On the night of Dec. 18, the father was walking Nobie off-leash when the dog bolted. The man tried to catch the dog but couldn’t. He went to bed that night assuming somebody had picked up the purebred animal.
It wasn’t until a friend called to tell them their dog was on television that the family realized Nobie had become an international story.
“They were somewhat reluctant with all the publicity; they don’t watch a lot of television,” Nelson said of the family she described as “very sweet, very understanding, wonderful people.”
“It’s a huge step in life; it’s almost like taking on another child,” she said. “I have to commend them for being big enough and being able to admit that.”
The family will decide today whether they want to take the dog back. Because a state-mandated seven-day hold on the dog passed Tuesday morning, they would have to go through the same adoption process as the 50 other people who have filed adoption papers for the dog. More than 400 people have inquired about adopting Ice Train.
Shelter manager Vickie O’Branovich has narrowed the field of applicants to three. She will decide Wednesday afternoon who gets to claim the dog.
Any future owner won’t be able to take Ice Train/Nobie home until Friday, though; the dog has an appointment Thursday for neutering and a rabies shot.
Nelson said regardless of what happens to the dog, the story has been good for other strays. Well-wishers who have visited the husky have ended up adopting two dogs and three cats.
“Other animals out here have really been benefiting, too,” Nelson said.