I will not abandon my friend. A dog who endangered himself by the side of an injured dog who could not move from the railway track, but protected it for two days. He lay there with her and nudged her head down so she wouldn’t be hit.

A female dog, too injured to move, lie down on some railroad tracks in Ukraine, despite the danger of being struck by (yet another?) train. However, her male companion refused to leave her side, and urged her head down to protect her as rapid trains passed over them.

It’s unclear if Lucy was wounded by a passing train in Uzhgorod, but she was too severely injured and frigid to move to safety. Locals wanted to assist her, but every time they ventured near, her boyfriend, Panda, barked at them to maintain their distance.

Denis Malafeyev discovered the pair and shared the heart-stopping video of them narrowly surviving being struck by the fast-moving train.

“It’s such a poignant narrative. I received a phone call from an acquaintance who said that there were two dogs lying on the railway track near Tseglovka village for two days,” he explained.

“When we arrived, it came out that one of the canines, the female, was injured and couldn’t move. But the male dog was protecting her from us. I saw a train approaching – and felt sick.”

The train was moving so rapidly that there was no way he could have gotten to them in time to do anything. Had he even attempted, all three likely would have gotten pulverized.

“The male dog heard the sound of the impending train, came near to the female dog and laid down next to her. Both of them moved their heads towards the earth, and let the train pass.”

They both survived, and once they were removed from the tracks, they were taken to see a physician. Lucy did not have any fractured bones, but she was severely bruised. The dogs’ family was found and reunited with them, but even after they were secure in a car and on their way home, Panda continued to nestle with Lucy.

“The male dog was doing this for two days in a succession. Ponder about it. He was keeping her warm. I don’t know what to name this: instinct, affection, friendship, loyalty? One thing I know for sure, not all the people would do the same as this.”

Fortunately, the two soon recovered. The injured female was named Lucy and the male was named Panda.

“I’ve also completed vaccinations.” And as I interacted with the people at the facility, I progressively began to trust humans. And then the long-awaited foster parent applicant appeared.

“She was brought in by a man as a pair.”