If you live in the Austin, Texas, area, you might be familiar with Rally, the rescued Golden Retriever mix who’s the mascot of Austin Subaru.
And if you’re familiar with Subaru—I’ve personally owned their cars for over 25 years—you know how much the company loves dogs. Their commercials with the Golden Retriever family on car trips are the cutest, right?
Rally, referred to as the dealership’s “ambassadog” on its website, has “office hours” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. In a YouTube video in which Rally makes a brief appearance, Austin Subaru promotes its dog friendliness and invites customers to “bring your furry friend along.”
That’s what makes this news so disturbing: When the marketing employee who has lived with and cared for Rally over the past three years was recently laid off from Austin Subaru, he not only lost his job. He also lost Rally.
“We grew a bond that no one will never really understand,” the former employee wrote in an Instagram post on Oct. 9 that currently has over 1,200 likes. “It was a fun ride and I completely spoiled him every single day without regret. I often got asked, ‘What will happen if you got let go? Would you keep Rally?’ I honestly never knew how to answer that question. Now I know.”
Backlash Grows
The backlash over Austin Subaru keeping Rally is growing. The dealership is allegedly removing negative comments from its social media platforms. It’s gotten so bad that even Yelp has stopped allowing people to post reviews of the dealership.
“The reason I bought a Subaru was bc of you and Rally!” Alexandra Hulme wrote in a comment on the former employee’s Instagram post. “I am so upset about this, dear friend. Seeing how much you cared for Rally and how much you did for him, I am shook by this news.”
“I thought love was ‘what makes a Subaru a Subaru,’ not separating pets from their humans,” wrote Michael Kalb in a comment on Austin Subaru’s Facebook page.
“Give Rally to his person,” Lynn McCreary wrote in another Facebook comment. “That would be the spirit of Subaru pet love. Dogs don’t belong to dealerships. That is ridiculous!”
In a statement on Instagram, Austin Subaru defended its action. “Rally is a cherished part of our dealership family, and his safety, stability and daily care have always been and will continue to be our top priority,” it stated. “We understand that emotions can run high, but please know that there are always multiple perspectives, and every decision we make is guided by what we believe is best for Rally and our greater Subaru family.”
The former employee wrote on Instagram that he had accepted the marketing position three years ago because he’d recently been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. “Once I met Rally, I knew he was the cure for that, and he definitely was. He was my rock, my support animal and everything else in between.”
Here’s hoping Rally can continue to live at the home he’s known for three years, or at least that Subaru Austin can provide a reason for why the dealership is keeping the dog.
“This will definitely have a long-term effect on Rally and I for the rest of our lives,” the former employee wrote. “I’m proud of what I tuned him into… just a happy boy who never stopped smiling. I’ll need a few days to cope with this empty void in my life.”
Photo: Austin Subaru/YouTube