THURSDAY, July 23, 2015 – A bus rider left behind their critter, but maintenance workers with the SunLine Transit Agency made sure the pet was saved.
The employees found the female, 2-year-old satin rat aboard a SunLine Transit bus and contacted Riverside County Animal Services and now Sunny – her new nickname – is waiting for her owner to redeem her at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms.
On Sunday, a SunLine rider brought the pet on the bus, hidden in his shirt, and somehow she got loose. When the rider came to his stop, he got off, but without his companion. Eventually crew members at SunLine’s maintenance yard located Sunny and called the county animal shelter.
Officer James Huffman retrieved Sunny on Monday and the employees at the Thousand Palms-based shelter are caring for her and already finding it hard to resist her sweet demeanor.
“She is a very cute and she is a very social animal,” Officer Huffman said.
Animal Services Director Robert Miller said SunLine illustrated a humane spirit in making sure Sunny didn’t get injured and now can be, hopefully, reunited with her owner.
“It’s a very strange tale, but it is wonderful to have a government partner illustrate such caring concern over even the smallest of animals,” Miller said.
Sunny will stay at the shelter for a few days until the owner comes in to redeem their pet. If not, the animal will likely be transferred to the county’s next-door neighbor on Pet Land Place in Thousand Palms: The nonprofit, charitable and rescue organization: Animal Samaritans. An Animal Samaritans humane educator has already expressed interest in re- homing Sunny.
SunLine Transit Agency CEO/General Manager, Lauren Skiver, said, “Though we are glad this incident was resolved and we hope the owner returns to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus to retrieve their animal, we are going to engage in greater education to our riders on SunLine policy as it relates to animals carried on our vehicles.”
