From a Texas Monthly story by Hannah Smothers headlined “How Much Is a Dog’s Life Worth?”:

I had the name before I had the dog: Augie, short for Augustus. I’d read Lonesome Dove for the first time over the summer and become enamored with Augustus McCrae, the quick-witted, sharpshooting cowboy with a heart of gold. I imagined owning a little dog like Gus: loyal, clever, loving, and a bit hardheaded.