Filoon said: "He came in as a stray, and he was really ʙᴇᴀᴛ ᴜᴘ. He was ᴍɪssɪɴɢ fur on his tail and ears. He was also ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟʏ sᴋɪɴɴʏ. They told me he was about 40 pounds when he came into the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ. He was just sitting there calmly, staring at me. And I thought, he is adorable! I need to take him now." Behind Russ' ʀᴏᴜɢʜ appearance, Filoon soon recognized what a delightful dog he was.

When Filoon came back later to check on Russ, the dog had barely moved. Filoon said: "He was sitting in the same position that he was before, just being quiet while the other dogs were barking and causing commotion. He was really cuddly with me, even when we went into the yard. He seemed like such a sweet dog, and he didn't bark at any of the other dogs." She walked Russ for about 45 minutes, but it only took about five minutes for her to fall in love with him. She also discovered that Russ knew basic commands like sit, down and stay, which made her think he used to belong to someone. She wondered how he ended up at the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ in such ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ.