First Canine Station Adopter Brings Joy to Passengers

West Midlands Railway (WMR) celebrated International Dog Day last week, by officially announcing its first canine station adopter, a 6-year-old border terrier called Bertie.

‘Kennel-worth’ Station has been adopted by a group of 10 local volunteers, including pet owner John Boothroyd, who brings Bertie with him to the station to help with his duties.

The community engagement team at WMR organised for Bertie to receive his own high visibility jacket to wear while he’s at work, where he’ll be greeting passengers, carrying out im-paw-tent patrols and quality checking any garden beds looking ruff round the edges.

Shantel Carty, community engagement manager at WMR, said: “Station adopters play a key role in making our stations welcoming places which serve and represent their local communities. We are so excited to see the improvements made at Kenilworth, and with Bertie on the case, I’m sure they’ll do a paw-fect job.”

John Boothroyd, adopter at Kenilworth station, said: “Bertie loves meeting new people, so it feels right to bring him along when I volunteer at the station. He’s easily fitted in as part of the team and is already very popular with passersby. All the volunteers at Kenilworth, including Bertie, are excited to get stuck in to brighten up the station, and we have plenty of ideas to get working on.”

West Midlands Railway and sister brand, London Northwestern Railway (LNR), support station adopters across its rail network, who volunteer to give stations a boost with artwork, planting and general maintenance.

To find out more about station adoption, visit Station Adoption | West Midlands Railway.