Augie's (Oscar) Story

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Preface 
(By Russell Rescue)

Russell Rescue received a call from a rescue friend about a little dog named Oscar; he was on death row after not being adopted at a rescue event so we agreed to take him. A decision I almost immediately regretted. Little Oscar was a little terror! He proceeded to “blow” through 3 foster homes in a very short period of time! I affectionately called him "the gift that kept on giving"! Eventually he found his way to Karen, our San Diego Foster Coordinator and she found her way to Meagan at the Collared Scholar. After many months of training and lots of patience Oscar renamed Augie was ready for adoption or was he? 

 

Augie’s Fresh Start

(Written by Angela) 

After purchasing a house Oct. 09 I started looking for a dog to adopt.  Since it had been well over 20 years since my Penny dog died I was pretty rusty in the dog ownership department. One day while perusing Craigslist I came upon an ad for Augie. The one thing that really caught my eye was that he was used to being on a ranch and around horses. I have a horse, and I wanted a dog that was good around horses and would not chase or harass them. 

On Dec. 31^st 2009 Augie came into our lives. We had a few misadventures to start with…he chased my buddy’s hens and bonded to me like crazy glue and didn’t want anyone near me and would threaten anyone that came into “my” space. On the positive side he was crate trained, housebroken and not destructive or yappy. He was great with the horses and other dogs.  

I was kind of at my wits end. I could discipline a 1300lb horse, no problem, but this little 15 lb tough guy had me completely thrown for a loop. 

I called Meagan in tears. Even though he had only been with us a short time, he had filled the empty place in my heart that had been there since my Penny dog passed away all those years ago. Meagan came over and worked with us. She gave us the tools and the knowledge to work through his issues. 

We worked on heavily socializing Augie, I took him everywhere dogs were allowed. I had strangers give him treats and fuss over him. He went to the dog park almost every evening and I also did some agility training with him. I took him to the beach and was astounded that he LOVES leaping into the surf. He’s a salty dog thru and thru, fearless and feisty. I quickly learned that “A tired dog is a good dog. ;)” 

It’s been a little over a year since that New Year’s Eve that Augie came into our lives. Augie is now secure and confident in our love. He has no need to be possessive or aggressive anymore.  He is a pleasure to take anywhere, we just took him to a car dealership and purchased a vehicle and of course he went on the test drive, too. He approves of his new chariot.

We can’t imagine life without him. He has truly enriched our lives. He makes us laugh every day.  He is curled up in his bed next to my desk as I type, sound asleep, but ready to spring into action at a word from me. 

I am so grateful to Russell Rescue and Meagan for their tireless work in rescuing and rehabbing dogs in need. 

They are truly making a difference. Augie is living proof.