Memories of Rusty from Jennifer, a friend and rescue agent Rusty came into Rescue seven months ago, in early 1997. He was a stray who had been hanging around the front of Safeway for days. From appearance, Rusty (a big red Golden) was estimated to be around 12, had very few teeth, poor sight, practically deaf, was hypothyroid and he had lymphoma. Knowing all of this Maxe and Steve agreed to foster the big red guy. Along with the heartache they knew would accompany taking Rusty, they also knew they could make a difference in the months he had left. Rusty's presence brought joy to all who met him. He was a teacher to their puppy Caliber. He would put up with a lot, but would put Caliber in his place when needed. Rusty loved to swim and retrieve. He was a natural. In his youth perhaps he was a field dog. He would have loved the Norcal Field Picnics. The last few weeks have been tough for Rusty, AKA the Rust Bucket. His lymphnods have swelled to the point where he can no longer eat or stand without pain. It is with great sadness that today we have to say good-bye. I know Maxe would appreciate hearing from her friends. It has been a tough few days and not only that, but today is her birthday. Maxe and Steve Remember Rusty Thank you to all of you for sending such uplifting messages and kind words regarding Rusty. It really consoles us to know that so many of you care. As Jennifer said in her post, Rusty was our Foster dog for 7 months. We loved him very much and miss him something awful. Our puppy misses him too. Caliber looked for him most of the evening yesterday. Kept looking outside the sliding glass door to see if Rusty was out there. (Rust liked to sleep outside) After reading Jen's post, Steve said, "Did Rusty really have all of those problems?" I thought it was a funny question. I guess we overlooked them because he was such a good dog. He was our Rust Bucket, Rustoleum, Smelly Old Dog. A friend nicknamed him the foot rest because he would come in and lay at your feet. You could even put your feet on him and he would just lie there happily. Making the decision to let Rusty go to the bridge was one of the hardest decisions we've had to make so far. I'm sure it will not be the last. We agonized over it for weeks and asked advice from our friends. The nagging question of "Is it too soon?" kept coming up. I kept wishing that he would just lay down to sleep one night and drift away. It didn't happen. Finally, seeing Rusty unable to walk well, eat or swallow without hassle made us realize that it was time. Your kind words helped us to realize that it was the right thing to do to round out his last months with us. To let him go and suffer no longer was the best birthday present I could give myself, though the saddest.
Rest in Peace, Rusty. |
