Named after the International Man of Mystery, Austin came to us in January 2005.His background however was not a mystery – his owners moved out of their apartment and left poor Austin behind!

How can people be so cruel and heartless?

After his ordeal of being abandoned, Austin was thin, ragged and worn.  He was transferred to the local Toronto area shelter by animal control officers but he found it difficult to cope in the shelter environment.  He was not eating well and overall, hewas an emotional wreck.

Shelter staff called us and we went to pick him up the next day. Austin was shakingbut snuggled up and was grateful to be loved again.

He was given 2 weeks of TLC and good food, professionally groomed, vetted and neutered.  What a difference!

His picture went on Petfinder and within one hour we had numerous applications for dear Austin.  One application in particular caught our attention.  It was from a woman who was looking for a companion and soul mate.  She had lost her best canine friend in July and there was something about Austin that pulled her near to him, she explained.  Yes, we all knew Austin is a cutie pie, but could the fact he was not house trained be an issue?  As it turned out, her last little dog needed gentle, positive house training coaching also and she was not the slightest bit deterred.  In fact, it was a “non-issue”.  She worked from home and had a somewhat flexible schedule for walking and outings.  Things were sounding good for the Man of Mystery.  And things got even better when they met.  I could hardly believe my eyes when Austin jumped into her lap as she sat down!  I don’t think I need explain the rest of this story; let’s just say it was a ‘Happy Shagadelic’ ending to be sure!