It pained him to see these animals wandering around wondering where their loved ones had suddenly gone to. They had no access to fresh water or food.
Their hearts were broken, they were frightened and they were lost.
“We live down on a dead-end street, where me and my brother (Corkey) have a horse barn. People sometimes come by and dump dogs out here, leaving them to starve. So, we started feeding them, letting them in, taking them to the vet to get them spayed and neutered. We made a place for them to live.”
Eugene smothers the pups with the love they seek and miss. He renames them and gives them a friendly pat on the head every day when he greets them.
The puppers love frolicking on Eugene’s 12-acre farm teeming with ducks, geese, turtles, rabbits, goats and birds. But caring for them and providing the basics wasn’t enough for Eugene. He had to do more.
“One day I was out and I seen this guy with a tractor who attached these carts to pull rocks. I thought, ‘Dang, that would do for a dog train.’ I’m a pretty good welder, so I took these plastic barrels with holes cut in them, and put wheels under them and tied them together.”
So Eugene continued rescuing needy dogs but added a new title to his resume — train conductor.
“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.”
Eugene’s dog train is quite the local attraction and visitors in town will stop him and ask to take a few pictures, like Tiffany Johnson. Who wouldn’t?
“This is the coolest guy he rescues stray dogs and every morning he takes them for a train ride by our building, i finally got the courage up to ask if I could take his pic! Love this and had to share!”
Watching these happy dogs with their tongues lolling out, not a care in the world, riding around town in a custom-built dog train is quite the sight to see.
Tiffany was so moved by what Eugene does for the strays that she created a GoFundMe campaign a few years ago to help defray the veterinary and food expenses for the dogs. With the help of other compassionate pet lovers, together everyone raised more than $16,000 that Tiffany ecstatically presented to Eugene.
“My stepdad and I went to his house and told him how all of these wonderful people are donating to this GoFundMe and his face lit up with joy. It was sooo amazing to see his sweet face. He was so surprised!”
This ambitious senior citizen willingly obliges everyone’s request for a photo and to admire what he does for these dogs, but he really can’t wait to just get behind the steering wheel and take the excited dogs for their jaunts. It fills his furry friends with such joy.
“I’m getting up in age … so I suppose it can’t last too much longer, but I’ll keep it going as long as I can. The dogs have a great time. They just really enjoy it.”
These dogs truly need Eugene and deep down inside, he needs them, too. They keep him young at heart and thank goodness this is where his heart has led him in his retirement. These dogs are so lucky!
Watch in the video below how excited they are to go for a spin in their dog train created especially for them.
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