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AUSTIN By Linda Jo Bugbee In the wee hours of one hot August evening in 1996, a very special young Afghan Hound was born. His parents were of great linage. The sire, handsome Robby, was SBIS CH Elmo’s Hammurabi who produced many a champions was owned by Lynda Marx. The dam, Stephany, was the lovely CH Perfection’s Wildwood Flower, TD a dam of distinction was owned by Debbie Petersen. The litter was especially special to me because it was the first litter ever born in my house.
I’ll start from the beginning. A few months prior I was thinking of moving to another state. It is funny how our friends have a way of changing our minds. Debbie asked me if I would help her out and have the litter born at my house. She didn’t need my help! She knew darn well I would stay put with the bonding of our friendship and me wanting to watch these little pups grow into adults. Well, she was so right because I did indeed stay put here in Oregon August 13, 1996 Stephany was getting restless. The time was near. Debbie and I had her whelping box ready and waiting for this wonderful moment. I phoned Debbie, she arrived shortly thereafter. It was a long night/morning but in the end there were 4 blues and 3 creams. Debbie had gone to the nationals in October and I was still delighting in loving, ah hem spoiling, this wonderful litter of pups. They played hard, ate heartedly and slept peacefully. Then an accident occurred. To this day I do not know how but they were all playing and running in my kitchen when one of the cream boys screamed. I ran and picked him up. Something was wrong with his left hind leg. I frantically phoned Debbie. Off to the veterinarian he went. The leg was fractured. Gratefully the fracture was not in the growth plate and the vet felt it would heal fine. He was a fighter and a trooper but he also had my number. Every time he would whimper I would pick him up. Who wouldn’t? Well pretty soon he whimpered a lot and I dotingly would pick him up. He didn’t have a name yet so I called him Oscar because he was turning in to such a weenie. Being in a cast certainly did not stop him from chasing the cats or playing with his littermates. As the days went by the fracture healed beautifully. When he was fully healed I named him Austin. It was a strong name and he was no longer a weenie.
Shortly after he healed the litter went to Debbie’s house and it was time for them to go to their new homes. Debbie had checked out each and every home prior to the placements. Austin went to live with a delightful young couple in Washington with a small child. I have a vivid memory of the man holding the child’s hand and the woman holding Austin’s lead walking away from us. As always, Debbie kept close tabs on all the pups. She would have phone conversations, letters, photos, etc. One day Debbie phoned and the couple’s phone had been disconnected. It was one gloomy day. Debbie has always kept contact with all of the pups she helped bring into this world. Days, weeks and finally months went by and but no word on Austin. Trips up to Washington, still no word where he was or what happened to the young couple. In October 1999 Debbie phoned me one evening. Austin was found! Debbie received a call from a humane society in Olympia, Washington. Thankfully the shelter looked at Austin’s tattoo, reached the AKC and found Debbie was his breeder. Someone phoned the humane society saying they had a big white dog on their porch that was nearly dead. When the shelter picked him up they found a dog horribly soiled, matted and unable to stand on his own. Debbie was unable to close her grooming/supply shop so the next morning I phoned work telling them I was taking the day off and drove up to Olympia, Washington which is 250 miles one way to retrieve our beloved Austin. I arrived by 10:00am at the humane society and introduced myself to the person at the counter. The young woman seated to off to the side with her small child got up approaching the counter as well. It was the woman who had bought Austin. She told me she and her husband divorced, she remarried, was now pregnant again and Austin…well he was living at her mom’s tied up and she had very little time to spend with him due to her lifestyle changes. The woman behind the counter was far from happy with Austin’s owner. The caregiver of the shelter then escorted me to the back of the shelter, and strongly requested the young woman stay in the waiting room and care for her “human child”. We came to a door marked “Isolation Unit”. She warned me he was not the dog he was when I saw him last. She asked me more than once if I was ready to see him. When she finally opened the door and pointed to the first kennel the sight I saw was of a heap of white, huddled in a ball, on a blanket at the far end of the kennel. “Is that my Godpuppy” I asked out loud. All of the sudden there was a yip then a howl and crying as Austin jumped up on the gate of the kennel. “He KNOWS you!” the lady cried. She allowed Austin out of the kennel and he immediately jumped into my arms. I don’t know who was crying more, me, Austin or the humane society woman. Dear God what a sight he was. He had been in the shelter two weeks and was under the care and treatment of their veterinarian. He had severe weight loss, matted, a horrid ear infection, sores down his inner legs and belly from laying in his own feces and urine for months. He had been tied without shelter, food or water for an unknown period of time. We can only speculate on how long he had to endure the elements of Washington including scorching sun, rain and snow. We speculate a Good Samaritan set him loose because there was no way this hound had the strength to set himself free. The caretaker at the humane society gave me a few of the photos they took of Austin when he first arrived.
I walked into the waiting room as the humane society caregiver was “settling” with Austin’s owner. I could not make eye contact with her. How could ANYONE neglect any animal let alone MY BABY as she had done! She had to pay enormous costs including board and veterinary care. She was to release Austin to me or face criminal charges the humane society threatened to pursue. Reluctantly she signed off on his registration papers and she allowed Austin to come home with me. Of course she had little choice. Instead of driving straight home I drove to Debbie’s grooming shop to give him yet another bath prior to exposing him to his Afghan Hound friends he played with in the past. My heart was wrenched to the max. Because of his fever and horrid neglect what little hair he had fell off. It was the absolute saddest case of neglect I have ever seen compounded by the fact this was my little Oscar. He was totally bald all over! I brought him home allowing him to run without the other hounds around the house and yard. It did not take long before he stretched out on one of the couches and fell fast asleep. At the time he came back home I had three other Afghan Hounds, Bryce, Gabriel and a 10 year old rescue I acquired who had mammary cancer named Donnie. Austin fit in with the family in a matter of hours. He was home again.
Austin lived with me for 3 years. In that time he grew into a rambunctious young adult full of play that he lacked so much in Washington. Even with the horrid neglect he endured he was so loving and thrived for attention. His hair was growing back beautifully. Austin traveled with us to Kansas where we met up with Lynda at a dog show and it was then she took him home to live in Nebraska while I took his half brother Joey home to live with me for a while. Lynda took Austin to handling classes and lots of walks. She was grooming and training him for the show ring. Lynda would phone me whenever he was awarded points. It truly was exciting to hear his accomplishments.
In August Austin will be nine years old. This past Mother’s Day he sent me a beautiful gift (via his other mom Lynda). It was a framed color photo reading “Love, Austin”. He’s not just Austin anymore. As of February 2005 he is CHAMPION Perfection’s Austin. Forever young.
Champion Austin is living happily ever after. He has a wonderful life with Lynda and Keith ruling the domain.....and pool.
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Austin with cast and cats.
