I left Kai at the rail station, says mother
AbAndoned at a station with his suitcase, the mystery of sharpei Kai has baffled dog lovers.
now a woman has come forward to explain how the lovable pet came to be left in this way.
Fin Rayner arranged to buy the dog after her nine-year-old daughter Rhiannon spotted an advert for a shar-pei on the website Gumtree.
but when she arrived at the station to meet the owner, she said she felt she had been duped because it was not the same animal.
Miss Rayner, of newmachar, in Aberdeenshire, said she panicked when the dog owner fled the scene and left her with his pet – who he said was called Pluto – at Ayr railway station on January 2.
The mother of three said: ‘He was supposed to be a one-year-old. [The owner] said he was totally trained and he had KC [Kennel Club] papers as well, so we thought we were getting a full breed.’
Miss Rayner, 39, and her daughter were due to meet the owner at 4pm but she claimed he tried to delay the meeting until it would be dark. When he arrived, Miss Rayner said she noticed there ‘ was a problem with the dog’s eyes and he looked skinny’.
She said the man told her he was in a hurry and asked her to give him a deposit, so she handed over £150 and walked towards the station door.
She said: ‘before I got to the door, I looked back and... he had disappeared in his car. The dog wasn’t settling. He was pulling on the lead and peeing everywhere. I thought it wasn’t my dog – I didn’t want him.’
Miss Rayner said she felt sorry for the dog and called its owner to tell him to come back for his pet and he agreed. but there was still no sign of him 15 minutes later, when she had to board the train to Glasgow.
She decided to return home with the dog but changed her mind after her teenage son owen warned her the dog might be stolen.
Miss Rayner said: ‘I panicked. I spoke to a man at the station and told him it wasn’t my dog. I told the guy I needed to get the next train. He said to tie him so I did.’
Yesterday police said they were not involved in the investigation.
However, the Scottish SPCA said they were keen to speak to the man who may have tried to sell Kai.