When you look at the sweet face of Auggie, a 1-year-old Frenchie with an ever-growing Instagram fan base, it’s not hard to see how he can make life better for all those around him.
This adorable little guy lifts the spirits of the young and old alike, on the Internet and beyond. In fact, he’s currently in training to become a therapy dog for UCLA’s Children’s Hospital.
Auggie came into his owner Ruth Kayland’s life at a time when she needed him the most.
For any pet parent who has faced the heartbreaking loss of their dog, they know all too well the sinking feeling that they may never love the same way again. That was exactly how Kayland felt after the passing of her beloved French Bulldog, Alfie, who died as a result of congestive heart failure.
“I was so devastated when Aflie died. He was the love of my life. For ten years, he was my everything,” Kayland tells us.
For months, Kayland struggled with the idea of ever getting another Frenchie, not wanting to ever feel that sort of pain again.
But after her husband was ready to welcome a new dog to their brood (they also had a yellow lab named Boomer who grew up with Alfie by his side), Kayland opened herself up to the idea of welcoming another Frenchie.
When she met Auggie, she knew she was ready to love again, and when Auggie met Ruth, he knew he found his family. Kayland recalls bringing him home from the breeder for the first time, “He immediately ran up to my husband and kissed his face, looked for his dog food, looked for dog toys, went in his dog crate, and fell asleep. It was the funniest thing.”
Since then, the good-natured and friendly Auggie has been making everyone around him smile, including modeling his most fashionable duds on his Insta page. “When he’s in a good mood, he’ll let you dress him up, but if he’s not in the mood, he goes and hides in his teepee and there’s no getting him out,” Kayland says.
Auggie’s adorable disposition has touched a nerve with fans, as Kayland notes, “Sometimes we get comments like, ‘My day started out so bad and then I looked at Auggie’s face and realized there’s a lot of love out there.’ It’s so heartwarming.”
Perhaps even more heartwarming is the way that Auggie has changed the lives of the other doggies in his young life.
Before Boomer’s recent passing, Kayland says Auggie “brightened his whole life” by playing with him and being a fun little brother.
In addition to Auggie, Kayland also helps take care of her daughter’s Boston Terrier named Hoagie, a 12-year-old who is blind and living with IBD. Every morning, she takes Auggie and Hoagie to play in the park, and she’s noticed something pretty incredible about their relationship over the past year.
“Ever since Auggie came along, Hoagie’s got a second life because Auggie is always playing with him and trying to get him to run so he’s built up more muscle in his legs,” Kayland says.
Acting as something of a seeing-eye dog for Hoagie, Kayland explains, “When they’re at the park, he follows Hoagie and if Hoagie goes in the wrong direction or bumps into something, Auggie nudges him out of the way or stands in front of him. Auggie is constantly aware of where Hoagie is.”
Kayland tells PawCulture that being Auggie’s mom is “such a pleasure” and with such a caring, sweet dog by her side, it’s not hard to imagine why.
Images: Courtesy @auggie_thefrenchie
Aly Semigran is a lifestyle writer for the world, and roommate of Ruby, the cutest dog in the world.
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