Oscar Came To Live With Us

by Terry
(Newcastle Australia)

Oscar and Priscilla with Santa

My first Standard Poodle came to live with me in 1962 ans shared his life for 16 years with me, even if he did steal and eat the Christmas Turkey one Christmas day and we had a Tuna Lunch.

Since then I have had 8 standards and one Old English Sheepdog, herself a rescue from the RSPCA.

My latest, Oscar, came to live with me three years ago.

It was a week before Christmas and I arrived home from work to find one of my two standards Gina had died from a heart siezure just as I arrived, she was still warm. Both Priscilla, my other standard and I were heart broken.

I immediatly started to look for another companion for Priscilla,(and myself) and on Christmas Eve rang the Poodle refudge outside of Sydney Australia to enquire about a standard to be told "we have a two year old boy here wanting a home!.

I said, I am comming down only to br told "Not tomorrow, it is Christmas Day" I said OK, I will be down on the 26th , which in Australia is a public holiday (Boxing Day).

On Boxing day Priscilla and I got up early and left for Sydney from Newcastle, 180 Kilometres away, to pick up Oscar.

When we arrived we were greeted by the tallest white standard I had ever seen, whose name was Oscar. His first owner had died, her daughter was not a dog person, and his next owners had to surrender him because of no space as they lived in a unit. It appears they were both in tears when they handed him over.

Oscar greeted us both and said "OK Lets go, put Priscilla in the back seat and climbed in the front seat next to me and off we went, Oscar sitting up and helping to navigate.

WHen we arrived home he went inside, spied Priscilla's Christman Teddy bear and said "This is mine" and made himself at home.

He and Priscilla are now the best of friends, enjoy home cooked meals, going to the dog'd beauty parlour, Dogoverboard in Newcastle and guess who both sleep on my bed with me.

Unfortunatly I think these two will be my last standards and dogs as I am 74 and have to think if anything happens to me what will happen to the dogs. Terry