Eugene Bostick isn’t like most people you meet. When he retired 20 years ago, he took up a different mission; rescuing stray dogs. He didn’t just take them in and give them food, though. He decided to give them the gift of adventure as well when he built a custom barrel train just for them.

The then 65-year-old was able to add another job title to his resume as a dog train conductor.

It all started when the Fort Worth, Texas-based dog lover began feeding the abandoned dogs that so many heartless pet owners had dropped off near his property.

“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, 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,” the now 85-year-old explains in an interview with The Dodo.

The past two decades have been kind to the dogs that found themselves suddenly abandoned near Bostick’s home. In fact, you might even call it a blessing in disguise.

Eugene lives with his wife, Pat, on their 12-acre farm. Here, the Bostick’s rescue dogs get to roam free, letting their curiosity take them wherever it should lead. Whether that’s to the goats, geese, and ducks or to the birds, turtles, and rabbits, there is always something to sniff at.

Even though the retired farmer knew that the dogs were happy, healthy, and well cared for, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they needed a little more adventure in their lives. Then Bostick happened upon a man moving rocks with barrels and he came up with the perfect idea.

The retiree was going to create a customized dog train for his rescue buddies.

“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,” Bostick recalls.

Bostick didn’t stop with just building the train, either. He went a step further and added cushy pillows to each of the carts to make it nice and cozy.

Each cart holds two of Bostick’s 9 rescue dogs and every single one of them look forward to climbing aboard the train for their outing, which usually takes place twice a week.

Bostick will fire up his tractor and hook the carts to the tow hitch to motor his doggos around in. They’ll spend around an hour cruising through the neighborhood, the nearby forest, or along a refreshing creek in a local park. Every time they know they’re about to go for a train ride, the dogs go nuts.

“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,” says Bostick.

One day a woman named Tiffany Johnson spotted Bostick and his canine companions on their dog train tour and had to snap a photo to share their story on Facebook.

“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!” the caption read.

Her post went viral, reaching over 59 thousand shares and led her to create a Go Fund Me account for Bostick to help him provide for all of his rescues, and people began donating left and right.

Tiffany went to deliver the news to Bostick personally and, needless to say, he was blown away by everyone’s kindness.

“My stepdad and I went to his house and told him how all of these wonderful people are donating to this GoFund and his face lit up with Joy. It was soooo amazing to see his sweet face. He was so surprised!” Tiffany captioned a photo of herself with Bostick after delivering the great news.

If you would like to donate to the Bosticks and their dog train, you can do so here. If you’d like to learn more about how you can help make this world a better place for our furry friends, watch his 2016 Christmas message in the video below.

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Source: Eugene Bostick and the Dog Train/Facebook/The Dodo/GoFund Me