Why I left this dog at a railway station...just like Paddington

by Eleanor Harding

He was found like Paddington Bear at a railway station with nothing but a suitcase stuffed with his worldly possessions. Now the woman who abandoned this adorable two year old dog has finally come forward to defend herself - claiming that he had been sold to her under false pretences.

Fin Rayner, 39, said she left the animal last week after realising he was not the same dog she had agreed to buy. The mother said she had offered to buy a dog for £400 after replying to an advert on listings website Gumtree. But when she arrived at the station to collect the dog-whose previous owner named him Pluto-he was clearly a different animal, and in a poor state of health. "I went to buy a dog but the dog was not the same as the picture advertised," she said. "The guy rushed out with a food chest and the dog on a lead, but I could see there was something up because he was very skinny. I said I wanted to take the dog for a walk, so he asked me for £150 as a deposit in case I didn't come back. Then I saw him tearing off in his car. He never came back."

Mrs Rayner, who had travelled to Ayr station in Scotland with her nine year old daughter, claimed she then panicked as she had to get the last train home to Aberdeen. She called her son who studied the photograph in the advert and found it was actually from a picture taken in the United States in 2005.

She said: "I said to a member of staff it was somebody else's dog. I'm just going to tie him up out there and did that." After she left, the dog was spotted tied to a railing by a commuter who made sure he was passed to an animal charity, who later renamed him Kal. The dog had been left with a suitcase containing a toy, bowl, food and a pillow.

His tale is reminiscent of the story of Paddington Bear, who was found looking lost by the Brown family at Paddington station in London with only a suitcase. Kal, who has been described as very friendly, gained fame after the incident on January 2nd and there are now hundreds of people around the world offering to adopt him. He is being cared for by the Scottish SPCA and is said to be doing well. A JustGiving page set up to raise funds for the shar-pei cross-breed, who needs an operation to cure an eye condition, has raised more than £3,800. It is far more than needed so the surplus will be used to look after other animals in need, the SSPCA said.

Police said they were not involved in the investigation yesterday. However, the Scottish SPCA said it was keen to speak to the man who tried to sell the dog. One of the inspectors, Stewart Taylor, said: "We have received information as to how Kal came to be found tied up at Ayr railway station. This appears to have been a sale over the internet which has gone wrong and an example of the potential dangers of buying a pet online without knowing an animal's background. His sad story has touched the hearts of animal lovers all over the world and we have been overwhelmed with kind messages and offers of new homes."