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	Rusty
	June 2005
	We want to write you and let you know how wonderful our Rusty is! We adopted Rusty in January and have been very grateful he is around. Rusty arrived here into a group of 7 elderly dogs we have here in our family. Right away he started to work miracles. The group "pepped up" and a true renewal of interest and activity followed his arrival. It turned out that Rusty wasn't the 2 yrs of age that everyone had thought. It appears he was just barely one year of age and has been going through his adolescence! Rusty is over 3 inches taller than he was when he first arrived and seems to have a little bit more to grow since his paws are still a bit too large for his body! Rusty's facial birth defect, a twisted nose with some deformities in the teeth and secondary eyelid, has straightened out a little in this growth and while his face will never be quite normal in appearance or the nose grow to the proper length, our vet says there shouldn't be any really detrimental effects of the tooth and eye deformities he has. We look forward to a long and healthy life for him. Rusty right away chose one of our labradors as his "mom" and follows her everywhere playing and mimicking what she and the other big dogs do. His mother dog, Casey, had been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer before his arrival, and when we took her for a checkup in April, the tumor had completely disappeared! We believe that the happiness and activity Rusty offered by adopting her as Mom had a lot to do with her improvement! Since Rusty arrived in our home we have lost two of our elderly dogs to cancer and liver failure. One passed away unexpectedly just 10 days after Rusty's arrival, but seemed incredibly happy with him around before her death. They had made friends quickly and played together a lot in their days together. The other dog we lost in May was a little Shih Tzu that Rusty had grown particularly fond of. He developed lymphoma and died in less than three weeks. Before his illness, Alfie and Rusty would roam the backyard together and then play very loud games charging each other in the back yard! It was so darling to watch the little Shih Tzu winning puppy games over a Husky and they both seemed to enjoy it very much. While it isn't easy on Rusty to lose his sisters and brothers, he seems to be adapting very well to our house and his new life here. He seems just delighted to be here, is incredibly playful and affectionate, and has filled the house with happiness despite the sadness of our losses. While Rusty carries some anxiety issues from his difficult first year of life, he shows such concern and care for us and the other dogs' welfare it just amazes me at the generosity and tenderness of his spirit. He is incredibly loving and caring and if there is any question of the welfare of anyone in the group he is right there trying to help! Rick and I are both grateful to be able to have Rusty as the first installment on a next generation of our pets and a symbol that even though we lose our beloved little ones too soon, life and love continues on in the ones that follow. I have included a few pictures of Rusty with his new family. Hope you enjoy seeing them! Thanks so much for letting us bring this wonderful dog into our lives. Sincerely, Beth & Rick G.
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