Adoption stories - How is ... Astro?
October 2020 - article by APAC web team
In these new article series we interview people who have adopted a dog or cat from APAC to find out how their lives have been since they became family members.
For this article we got back in touch with Anna, who adopted Astro in February 2019. Astro is now called Óscar, but he basically goes by his nickname of Ozzy.
Continue reading to find out how he is doing!
Before vs. after adoption (and a haircut!)
Hi Anna! Please tell us something more about Ozzy!
Ozzy is a Yorkshire Terrier mix and he is two years old now. His favorite hobby is playing and wrestling with his big brother Javi, our other dog. Ozzy is a typical terrier: stubborn, brave, with a big ego, he thinks he is a very big dog. A reckless little rascal, and a same time a typical mommy’s boy who loves to sit on your lap and get attention all day. Resisting his happy little face and wagging tail is quite difficult …
How did you find out that Astro/Ozzy was for adoption? How did you decide to adopt him?
At that time, we lived in El Campello and did volunteer work for APAC. We were open for adopting a second dog so that our dog Javi had a friend/brother, but we weren’t searching very actively at that time. During making a promo video about Ozzy, we took Javi with us to let them play together. Well, it turned out that they were the best play buddies! At first, after having him in pre-adoption, my girlfriend unfortunately was not 100% sure if Ozzy was the perfect dog for her. So, there was someone else who took him in pre-adoption, but that guy lost him on the second day … When Ozzy was found on the day after (after searching and worrying for hours and hours), we decided that he should stay with us.
How was the time after the adoption? What went well, what challenges did you face?
In the beginning he required a lot of supervision, since he had the tendency to chew on things, which was his way of channeling pent-up tension and excitement. So, in the first weeks we had to stay vigilant and teach him that the only thing he should be chewing on is chew toys.
The potty training was relatively easy. We were supervising him closely anyway, so there was no room for errors and he learned it in a couple of days. We also were surprised by how quickly he understood the daily routines in our house, like waiting at the door, waiting for the food, not being in the kitchen, etc.
What is the funniest / weirdest thing about Ozzy’s character?
The funniest (and at the same time scariest) thing about him that he is super reckless and never holds back. He just acts without thinking, which is usually very funny, but sometimes gets him into trouble. For example, challenging dogs up to ten times his size and playing with them like a little tornado, getting flipped or knocked over and yet continuing like nothing happened. Or running full speed towards ponds or cliffs, not realizing he should slow down. When there are ‘dangers’ like that around, we need to put him on a lead to protect him from his own stupidity and to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Never a dull moment with Ozzy. We really hope wisdom comes with age …
“Oops, didn’t see the water …!”
What are your most precious moments with Ozzy?
The most precious moments are his daily wrestling games with Javi. They really are best friends, every time again it puts a smile on our faces.
There is a Dutch poem which has the following line: “I wish I were two doggies, then I could play together.” This line we had in mind when we were searching for a second dog, but we could never have dreamt that Ozzy and Javi would be so great together.
Thank you very much for sharing this with us! We wish you many more happy moments together!