Paul and Alice Johnston live in Lehigh Acres, Florida, and let’s just say they’re pretty hard to miss when they come down the street.
The couple has built a train to usher around their fleet of rescued dogs – 19 of them to be exact!
Gone to the dogs
To answer an obvious question, Florida does not restrict the number of dogs people can have if they live in a rural area with enough acres of land. So we can only assume that’s the situation with the Johnstons.
The couple moved to Costa Rica about a decade ago to retire, but have since returned to the States. When they put down roots in Florida, they brought along their 17 adopted dogs. And they didn’t stop there.
Adopt don’t shop
Believe it or not, Paul wasn’t always a dog person and used to discourage his wife from tending to wounded animals she found. But he came around, especially as he saw the suffering of abused and neglected pets and how much the couple could do to make their lives better.
All of the Johnston’s dogs are rescues, many of them victims of gruesome abuse at the hands of humans. At least one had been hit by a car and left for dead. Many had been thrown out on the streets where they suffered from debilitating diseases. “Big Mommy” had been sliced with a machete and pelted with rocks.
The Wonderland Express
The couple now wants to show others how important it is to care for these animals.
“Our whole purpose in the train is to try to encourage people to adopt,” Alice Johnston told USA Today. “More animals are killed from lack of spay-and-neuter and unwanted babies. That’s sad.”
Yes, their dogs are babied – they have their own space, room to run, personalized breakfasts, and their own train. That train is what caused the couple to hit the news.
As a way to give the dogs a way to cool off in the evening and see the sights, the couple built a train to hold all of their dogs (although 2 won’t go near it). It’s called “The Wonderland Express.”
Quite a sight
The Johnstons and their dogs can’t be missed as they go chugging around town.
“People videotape us every Friday. It’s so funny people will bring their dogs out to see us and they’ll bring their children out to see us,” Alice told their local NBC affiliate. “We knew it was a big hit in the community. It’s funny because sometimes they wave at the dogs and I’m thinking, I wish my dogs could wave back cause they would.”
It would be impossible to walk all the dogs at once, so this is a unique alternative. They even decorate it for Christmas. And it even brings tears of joy to the eyes of passersby.
A lesson they won’t forget
Showing off their dogs doesn’t mean any of them are available for adoption, of course. They’re family.
But the Johnstons hope that by getting people to look in the direction of these once sad and abused animals that people will remember to adopt and not shop at puppy mills.
After all, there are far more dogs than there are caring owners.
And we’re not sure the Johnstons can care for them all (though we’d believe they’d be willing to try!).
Be sure to scroll down below for a news story about the caring couple.
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