A FAMILY'S pet poodle was stolen from their garden before being taken to a railway line – where it was tied to the track.

Luckily, a station guard found the helpless animal – which is deaf and blind – bound by the neck with baling twine and was able to free her before a train passed.

Police are investigating after Flossy was plucked from the garden of owner Carolynne Salt in the early hours of the morning.

The 18-year-old miniature poodle was snatched from the garden in Leedstown, West Cornwall, and taken to nearby St Erth Station where the thieves tethered her to the track for high-speed trains.

The guard who spotted and rescued Flossy – she is just 18 inches long – then called a dog warden to the scene.

"It was still dark and at first, I thought it was a big rat. The poor thing was shaking and tied so tight it could hardly move – whoever did this is just sick," he said.

"It would definitely have been killed but luckily, it was left on Platform Three and the first train in arrives on Number Two.

"I untied it and put it in the office but it walked straight into the door and it was then I realised that it must be blind."

Owner Mrs Salt, a 56-year-old widow, said she was "dumbstruck and sickened" by the cruelty towards Flossy.

The mother-of-four, who works in a hotel, said: "I don't know how anybody could be so cruel and heartless to a little creature that cannot defend itself.

"I left the house in a hurry because my mother was in a cancer hospice and had taken a turn for the worse."

Mrs Salt said that Flossy was in the garden with her mother's two Yorkshire terriers, but had disappeared when her son woke up.

"Everyone in the area helped search for her. She can't go far by herself because she can't see or hear anything.

"When the dog warden told us she was safe, I was relieved at first, but when they told us the details, I felt sick to my stomach and I still can't believe it."

Brian Keast, senior environmental enforcement officer for Penwith Council, has started an investigation into the crime on October 24.

He said: "The dog has been abducted – there is no doubt about it – and somebody must have seen something.

"It is horrific and beggars belief that someone could do such a thing and leads us to believe it could be some form of vengeance.

"The dog was clearly shaken and very traumatised by the events and stuck close to my side afterwards.

"We would like to hear from anyone who saw a car parked outside the family home or pull up outside the station."

Flossy and her sister Candy were rescued from a violent home 15 years ago, but Candy was later run over by a car.

Mrs Salt said: "Flossy is such a dear little thing. I'm delighted she seems to be all right after the ordeal. I just hope they catch the horrible person who did this."

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said officers had been informed of the incident and were liaising with the council over its investigation.