Eugene Bostick Brings Joy To Abandoned Pooches With Custom-Made Dog Train [Video]


The dogs who are dropped off on Eugene Bostick’s dead-end street in Fort Worth have had tough lives. Luckily, this 80-year-old retiree has dedicated the past 15 years to making those abandoned pets as happy as possible — and he’s built a dog train to do just that.

While some pooches get excited when they see their owner reach for the leash, Eugene’s rescue dogs are excited when it’s time to board the train, he told the Dodo.

“Whenever they hear me hooking the tractor up to it, man, they get so excited. They all come running and jump in on their own. They’re ready to go.”

A video of the train in action was posted on YouTube a couple years ago, but thanks to some pictures locals shared of him on Facebook, the story of the man’s remarkable act of kindness has gone viral.

And the pooches certainly do seem happy. Chugging along at a snail’s pace behind Bostick’s tractor, they’re all barking happily, tails wagging, mouths open in smiles.

Eugene hadn’t planned to spend his retirement lugging a train full of dogs, but circumstances required it. He lives on a farm on a dead-end street in Fort Worth, a popular spot for people to drop off their unwanted pets, CBS Local added.

“We live down on a dead-end street, where me and my brother have a horse barn. People sometimes come by and dump dogs out here… to starve. So, we started feeding them… taking them to the vet to (be) spayed and neutered. We made a place for them to live.”

Life is good on the farm. The rescued animals run around and play, but one day, he thought it would be nice to take the pooches on field trips, giving joy to what had been — before coming to the Bostick farm — pretty difficult lives.

“I started out with my tractor. I had a little trailer and I put four or five dogs in there and took them riding,” he told The Dallas Sun-Times. “Then more… started to show up and I said, ‘Uh-oh! That’s not enough room!’ That’s when I came up with that.”

He built the unique locomotive himself; he cut holes in plastic barrels, put wheels under each, and welded it all together.

Once or twice a week, the retiree runs the train, these days with about nine canines in tow. Locals can see the procession make its way down quiet streets, in the forest, or to a creek for some fresh air. If these animals felt unloved and rejected before, those days are over thanks to Eugene.

“I’m getting up in age. I’m 80 now, so I suppose it can’t last too much longer, but I’ll keep it going as long as I can,” said Bostick. “(They) have a great time. They just really enjoy it.”

[Photo Courtesy Tiffany Johnson Facebook]

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