Tag: stray dog

Arf Aboard! Elderly Man Builds Train for His Rescued Dogs [Video]

Not only have 80-year-old Eugene Bostick and his 87-year-old brother Corky rescued every dog who’s been dumped on their dead-end street in Fort Worth, Texas, but Eugene hand-built a train for his nine former strays and takes them on a 90-minute ride around town twice every week.

Photos and a video of the dog train in action are going viral.

“I started out with my tractor. I had a little trailer and I put four or five dogs in there and took them riding,” Eugene told NBC DFW last year. “Then more dogs started to show up and I said, ‘Uh-oh! That’s not enough room!’”

He got the inspiration for the train after he saw a tractor with carts attached to carry rocks.

“I thought, ‘Dang, that would do for a dog train,’” Eugene told The Dodo this week. “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.”

The passengers “bark a lot. Then they get tired and just stop and look around,” Eugene told NBC DFW.

The Bostick brothers have lived on their 13-acre property for more than 70 years.

“People sometimes come by and dump dogs out here, leaving them to starve,” Eugene told The Dodo. “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.”

Corky told NBC DFW he’s been feeding the wildlife for over 30 years, “and I’m going to live another 30. My wife said if I didn’t get up and do this, I’d be dead. And I really would.”

As for Eugene, he said he’ll be driving the dog train for as long as he can.

Here’s hoping these amazing brothers really do live at least another 30 years.

Photo via Facebook

Indianapolis Firefighters Free Stray Dog Stuck in Tire Rim

JULY 18, 2015 UPDATE: Happy news! Jessica Arnold, the woman who had been feeding Jimma and took her to the fire station, has become the former stray’s official dog mom. “Jimma will become a part of her family permanently,” the Indianapolis Fire Dept. wrote in a comment on its Facebook page today.

Jimma, a stray 1-year-old Pit Bull mix familiar to residents of an Indianapolis neighborhood, somehow got into a sticky situation today.

An unidentified woman who regularly feeds Jimma found her this afternoon with her head stuck in the rim of a tire that had been on a neighbor’s property. So the woman put Jimma in her car and drove her to the closest fire station.

“The dog who appeared to be stable was visibly shaken but not confrontational,” the Indianapolis Fire Dept. wrote on its Facebook page late this afternoon.

Using liquid soap and then oil, the firefighters spent 10 minutes trying to slide the rim off Jimma’s head, but the tire wouldn’t budge. They phoned another crew and requested extrication tools.

Removing the tire and rim would require large, loud tools, and the crews didn’t want to frighten or injure Jimma in the process.

They figured out a plan. The first step was to remove the tire.

“Several small tools normally used in vehicle extrication were used but ineffective due to the proximity of the dog’s head, noise, vibration and the rim material,” the fire department wrote.

As firefighters worked to remove the tire, others soothed Jimma by gently patting her and speaking to her calmly.

“Several times throughout the process, the dog turned skittish and firefighters had to allow the dog a minute to calm down before continuing,” the fire department wrote.

At last, over an hour later, the firefighters were able to cut through the rim using a tool normally used to cut brake pedals in cars. They then used spreaders to create a wider opening.

According to the Indianapolis Fire Dept., Jimma’s airway was never compromised and she appeared to be okay after her ordeal.

“A very happy Jimma was sent home with the resident,” the fire department wrote.

Here’s hoping the resident becomes Jimma’s permanent dog mom, or one of those hero firefighters adopts her, or Jimma’s story goes viral and she finds a forever home soon.

Photos via Facebook

After 10 Years, Stray NYC Dog Finally Has Forever Home

For nearly a decade, a Shepherd mix has been a familiar sight in two uptown New York City parks. And for nearly a decade, the stray, who’s been called Ricky, has managed to elude all efforts to catch him — until this week.

Tina Ilmet and several of her neighbors who live near Highbridge Park in Washington Heights were concerned the senior pooch would not survive recent record-breaking, single-digit cold temperatures, with a wind-chill factor of minus 22 degrees.

“Everybody knows him, but he’s a feral dog,” Ilmet told NBC New York Wednesday. “If you tried to approach him, he’d run away. I’ve been working with him for quite a while, so he finally got to the point where he would recognize me and wag his tail.”

Ilmet, a professional dogwalker, even slept in the park to help bond with the dog.

This week, Ilmet and her neighbors were finally able to get Ricky to hop into a van. They took him to BluePearl Veterinary Partners for an examination. The animal hospital’s veterinarians told NBC Ricky — whose name they changed to Charlie — was lethargic at first, but showed improvement after a couple of days.

Their main concern is Charlie’s mental condition. “He probably feels like he was abducted by aliens and he’s just not used to all this,” Dr. Boaz Levitin told NBC New York yesterday.

The good news is that, after spending so much time bonding with the stray, Ilmet has officially adopted Charlie and is spending time helping him adjust to life with a loving family and a roof over his head.

A “Highbridge Charlie” GoFundMe.com site has been created to help cover the cost of the dog’s veterinary care. As of Saturday morning, about $14,600 has been raised.

According to an update on the site yesterday, Charlie has been vaccinated. When his condition stabilizes, he will be neutered.

“He is a handsome mutt that was never dangerous. This stoic old boy needs some help with vet bills,” the site says.

“Thank you in advance for caring about uptown’s favorite pooch.”

Photos via GoFundMe.com

Michigan Cops in Big Trouble Over Stray Dog Prank

Some officers with the Ferndale Police Department in Michigan are doggone heelarious!

…At least they think so.

When a stray dog (he looks like a Puggle, a Pug/Beagle mix) was brought into the police station, the dispatcher on duty expressed interest in adopting him. But then he changed his mind, according to WDIV.

So, instead of handing the dog over to animal control as they are supposed to do, a lieutenant and two police officers got the wacky idea to go all “Jackass” on the dispatcher. Emphasis on jackass.

In the middle of the night, one of the officers — who was on duty at the time — drove the dog to a house in Southfield, about five miles from Ferndale, where he thought the dispatcher was staying. Using a rope, he tied the dog to the door and left him there.

And here comes the really knee-slappin’ part: It wasn’t the right house! And the homeowner thought someone was trying to break in, so he called the Southfield Police Department!

The Ferndale Police Department was not amused. “There’s no excuse for the behavior that happened. There’s no excuse for their conduct whatsoever,” Lt. William Wilson told WDIV. “It’s infantile. It’s grade schoolish, middle-schoolish at best.”

Police Chief Timothy D. Collins said “severe disciplinary action” will be taken very soon against the three officers.

It’s no surprise that people on Facebook are also angered by the prank. “When you tie a dog up, you make him defenseless against other dogs, people, rats, possums, etc.,” wrote one commenter on the WDIV Local 4 / Click On Detroit page. “These officers put this poor dog in danger, not to mention how confused & scared he was. These officers should lose their jobs, for they gave no consideration to a life or the danger they put that dog in. Shame on them.”

Hear, hear. Fortunately, the stray dog was “physically okay,” according to WDIV. He’s staying at the animal control center in Southfield and has not yet been claimed.

“[It was] a huge waste of police resources. Somebody could have gotten hurt,” said WDIV reporter Hank Winchester. “And, at the end of the day, the dog at the center of this entire controversy is still sitting in the pound.”

Photo via Facebook

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