A dog somehow got loose on the tracks of San Francisco's Muni Metro Monday evening, causing significant delays during the evening commute as transit workers chased after the errant pooch.
The pursuit began just after 6 p.m., when the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency notified riders on X that there had been a report of a lost dog in the tunnel near West Portal and to expect delays.
Service was delayed between the Forest Hill and Castro stations around 6:26 p.m. as the agency searched for the lost pup, and the SFMTA said trains between Castro and Powell stations were being held as responders continued to search for the lost dog. Shuttles were put in place to help commuters around the closure.
After reports that the dog had been spotted on the outbound trackway between Church and Van Ness, Muni posted at around 7 p.m. that it was holding trains from Embarcadero to Church Street.
Video that had apparently been taken from a platform and posted around 7:40 p.m. showed the dog, a tan, apparently mixed-breed canine, trotting down the platform at a brisk pace. A rider in the background could be heard yelling, "There he is!"
SFMTA announced in its final update at 8:21 p.m. that despite their efforts, transit workers had been unable to retrieve the dog, who was last seen exiting onto the streets east of the Embarcadero Station.
Based on reports from the SFMTA, the dog had traveled a distance of roughly 5 miles underground.
FINAL UPDATE: Unfortunately, our attempts to get the dog were not successful. The dog was seen exiting the subway tunnel at Ferry Portal onto the surface. https://t.co/83N1wE3cFu
— SFMTA (@SFMTA_Muni) January 23, 2024
Muni said it would run extra buses to support Metro service until 10 p.m.
