Hear that lonesome whistle howl

September 24, 2015 11:01 AM

Eugene Bostick built a train for his dog friends. More video here.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide (39 comments total)

Finally someone built the dog-hugging infrastructure I've always wanted. I can just park myself in a chair and the dogs to hug roll by me one by one.
posted by griphus at 11:02 AM on September 24, 2015 [17 favorites]

There's seven thousand dogs in eighty-eight cars
A sliver of moon and millions of stars
And every single dog has only one need
To ride this train at a dazzling speed
Dog train, dog train, dog train

Yes, we had a couple Sandra Boynton CDs when our kid was little. We are insufferable parents.
posted by bondcliff at 11:06 AM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

OH MY GOD the grin on this big goofy bastard at the far left
posted by ftm at 11:15 AM on September 24, 2015 [12 favorites]

"Dang, that would do for a dog train" making a strong bid for Best Sentence of 2015
posted by RogerB at 11:16 AM on September 24, 2015 [31 favorites]

This man is my hero. I love it.
posted by Elly Vortex at 11:16 AM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

That guy is really a magnificent human being.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:18 AM on September 24, 2015 [7 favorites]

I wonder if there is any trouble with keeping dogs in the cars? Do the dogs just know what to do when they see the other dogs riding?
posted by thelonius at 11:20 AM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

Okay, so I saw the video on Facebook yesterday, and now this post gives me "More video here" and now every day that I do not a new video of the dog train will be a little disappointing.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:21 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hero tag added, Elly Vortex. He is indeed!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 11:22 AM on September 24, 2015

Corky and Eugene Bostick are everything you could ask for in a pair of curmudgeonly, but soft-underbellied, Texan brothers who drive dogs around in a train attached to their tractor.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:26 AM on September 24, 2015 [10 favorites]

I saw this yesterday and it is just the best thing ever.

I sent the link to my sister and said, "They get to go for a ride twice a week!" and she replied, "I wish I did!" and the mental picture of my sister riding around her town in a train otherwise filled with effin' ecstatic dogs made me even yet more happy.
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:27 AM on September 24, 2015 [8 favorites]

And they can all hang their head out the window!
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:40 AM on September 24, 2015 [5 favorites]

Well, I know what I want to do when I retire.
posted by skycrashesdown at 11:41 AM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

Will Graham at age 70.
posted by codacorolla at 11:41 AM on September 24, 2015 [11 favorites]

A throwback to canine mass transit in the form of the Puppy Mover Monorail.
posted by dr_dank at 11:47 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Everyone in this is living their best life.
posted by Windigo at 11:50 AM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

Wait until Elon Musk gets his Dog Hyperloop up and running.
posted by lagomorphius at 11:57 AM on September 24, 2015 [5 favorites]

Mod note: Several comments deleted. "Lol fat dog" isn't worth the derail.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:07 PM on September 24, 2015 [9 favorites]

Now I've been happy lately
Thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be
Something good has begun

Oh, I've been smiling lately
Dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be
Some day it's going to come

'Cause out on the edge of darkness
There rides a dog train
Oh, dog train take this country
Come take me home again
posted by moonmilk at 12:10 PM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

p.s. when I played the video, my new dog [!!] came to see what the barking was about.
posted by moonmilk at 12:11 PM on September 24, 2015 [19 favorites]

hello new dog!
posted by griphus at 12:13 PM on September 24, 2015 [9 favorites]

I hear the train a-comin',
It's rolling round the bend.
And I ain't had a milkbone,
Since, I dunno when.
Well I'm stuck in the dog crate, and
Time keeps passing by.
When I hear that whistle blowin',
I paw my ears and whine.
posted by codacorolla at 12:21 PM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

They gave him his orders in Forth Worth, Texas
Sayin' Eugene, you're way behind time...
posted by Wolfdog at 12:33 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Nice when my town gets in the news for something good.
posted by emjaybee at 12:41 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is so great that when I first saw it I immediately had to shit and then run around.

Every ride-on needs to be repurposed into a dogtrain locomotive and every barrel with wheels needs to be a carriage for the dogs and at the end there needs to be a caboose filled with doggy treats and tennis balls. When this happens I may discover a small sliver of hope for our species.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:57 PM on September 24, 2015

This one needs to be in the parade too!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 3:41 PM on September 24, 2015

I would like this job please.
posted by scalefree at 3:46 PM on September 24, 2015

If you see your name on the news, and under your name it says "DRIVES DOG TRAIN," you have reached the pinnacle of human achievement. There is nothing about that that doesn't fill the heart with joy, and what could be better?

This is the best of humanity - gentle, kind, and humble.


I mean, come on, they also take goats sometimes.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:28 PM on September 24, 2015 [8 favorites]

Somehow, I just got this image in my head of Pope Francis riding in the dog train with a little muttpuppy riding in his lap, making happy little dog train barks and licking his face as he waves to the golfers and smiles gently.

I don't know his itinerary, but this should happen.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:35 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

Well, hell, I kind of am leaning towards a dog sitting business as one of my possible retirement plans; I wonder if these guys would franchise? Or take an intern or something?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:36 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

man i know a black lab who loves to go places, but she is a very old dog and her legs are very arthritic. Eventually they'll get her a dog wheelchair, but I bet in the interim she would love a ride on this train
posted by angrycat at 4:52 PM on September 24, 2015

If I ever saw this riding down the street, I think I'd probably just die. From joy.
posted by lumpenprole at 4:59 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

this is the best and finest thing any human has ever done.
posted by poffin boffin at 5:51 PM on September 24, 2015 [5 favorites]

The only way this could be better would be if all the dogs were elderly yellow labs.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:49 PM on September 24, 2015

My Town! I always thought we were doing right, mostly.
posted by key_of_z at 6:50 PM on September 24, 2015

I suspect these heroes have saved our civilization more times than we can count.

[BRIDGE OF STARSHIP. EARTH IS ON MAIN SCREEN. VAGUELY HUMAN-ESQUE ALIENS STARE AT 
HUNDREDS OF SMALLER SCREENS SHOWING LIVES SCENES FROM EARTH. THE OVERALL 
IMPRESSION IS FROM THE SCREENS IS OF CHAOS AND DISCONTENT.]

ASSISTANT:          Captain, we have searched for ages and can find nothing 
                    redeeming about these apes. They are venal, cruel, petty 
                    and are shitting in their own nest. And that's when they're 
                    on their best behavior. Normally they're worse.

CAPTAIN:            [SIGHS, LOOKS UNHAPPY.]

                    Well, then, I guess we had best disinfect this planet. 
                    Maybe they just got a bad starter batch of space seed 
                    a few billion years ago...should be better this time 
                    'round.

                    [HAND MOVES TOWARDS BUTTON]

ANOTHER ASSISTANT:  Captain, wait! Look!

[MAIN SCREEN IS SWITCHED TO SHOW DOG TRAIN. ENTIRE BRIDGE GOES SILENT FOR 
EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.]

VOICE OFF SCREEN:   Perhaps we should analyze that again?

[NUMEROUS SOUNDS OF ASSENT.]

CAPTAIN:            [VOICE THICK WITH EMOTION]

                    Well, maybe we should just check back in a few hundred years.

[SOUND OF SHIPS ENGINES, SMALL TWINKLING SOUND CAN BE HEARD AS WELL.]

CAPTAIN             [SOFTLY]

                    Who's a good doggy?

[SCENE: INTERIOR OF BOSTICK BARN, LOOKING OUT THROUGH DOOR.]

[EUGENE BOSTICK COMES AROUND CORNER AND STOPS SHORT, HIS MOUTH HANGING OPEN IN 
SHOCK.] 

[CAMERA IS NOW BEHIND AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE BOSTICK SO WE CAN SEE WHAT HE'S 
LOOKING AT.]

[THE BARN IS STUFFED FLOOR TO CEILING WITH BAGS OF DOG FOOD, ENDLESS SQUEAKY TOYS, 
BALLS, WADING POOLS AND WHAT LOOKS TO BE SOME SORT OF FLOATING TRACTOR WITHOUT 
WHEELS, WITH AT LEAST 20 FLOATING CARS BEHIND, EACH WITH A DOG BED AND WHAT LOOKS 
SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE A BIG DOG COOKIE ON EACH. THE BARN ALSO SEEMS TO BE 
EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL, MUCH LARGER INSIDE THAN OUT, AND AS CAMERA SLOWLY RISES 
WE CAN SEE THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.]

[CAMERA SLOWLY PANS BACK THROUGH BARN DOORS AND ASCENDS, KEEPING BARN IN UPPER
CENTER OF FRAME. HUNDREDS OF DOGS ARE STREAMING TOWARDS THE BARN.]

[AS THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO PULL BACK, REVEALING MORE AND MORE DOGS, SHORT MONTAGES 
FROM INSIDE OF VARIOUS ANIMAL SHELTERS SHOW PERPLEXED STAFF LOOKING AT "THANK YOU" 
NOTES, ATTACHED TO EMPTY KENNELS.]

[AS CAMERA CONTINUES RISING, THE SCENE BEGINS TO FADE. THERE IS A DISTANT SOUND 
OF SHIP'S ENGINES REACHING FULL POWER, A BARELY AUDIBLE "POP" AND THEN SILENCE 
JUST AS FRAME TURNS BLACK.]

posted by maxwelton at 7:13 PM on September 24, 2015 [20 favorites]

"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in."
-- Mark Twain

I think we can make an exception for this guy.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:19 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

Of course Mr. Bostick is a retired Union Pacific railroad employee. (Some cute pics here.)
posted by maggieb at 4:02 PM on September 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

There are some adorable picture's in maggieb's link. Also, more info about the completely awesome Mr. Bostick.

"The dogs are not the only recipients of the Bosticks’ kindness. Every day, the brothers feed and water goats, rabbits, geese, ducks, fish, cats, squirrels, raccoons and coyotes. They leave out food for more than 30 animals, depending on the season."
posted by colt45 at 6:17 PM on September 25, 2015 [2 favorites]