NYC subways delayed by poodle on the tracks

NEW YORK -- It doesn't take much to slow down the New York subway system. On Friday afternoon, one bundle of fur stopped train service on a transit line between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The dog named Dakota has a face that will stop traffic – or at least the F train, CBS New York reports. 

It was coming to the end of a long Friday for Hill when the alert went out that a poodle had escaped from her dog walker by the York Street subway station and was lost somewhere on the tracks.

"We heard Control come on the radio that there was a dog that was lost in the system, and everyone was basically on the lookout," MTA supervisor Sanya Hill told CBS New York.

"I basically respond to any situation that's going on that I'm in the area for," she explained, adding she's never responded to a situation like this.

The MTA re-routed the F train for about an hour, while police officers scoured the tracks for Dakota. As Hill's train was pulling into the Bergen Street station, a passenger said she spotted the poodle.

"Control held back the train so I could safely go down to the roadbed and look for the dog," she said. "As I was walking down, I actually saw the dog cuddled underneath the platform looking very scared. So I pattered her – I was a little leery at first, I didn't want to get bitten."

Hill has worked for the MTA for more than a decade and said helping a passenger – whether on two feet or four – is all part of the job.

"She was very happy, she was excited that we found the dog and everything. She was in tears, which is a good thing," she said.

To top off the tale – it all happened on the Lunar New Year and the first day of the Year of the Dog.

• New York City