Rusty

Welcome to the Rusty Pages! We're Dave and Katy, and this Web site is in honor and memory of Rusty, a beautiful Golden Retriever who -- originally abandoned by the roadside -- came to brighten and enrich the lives of his "pack," (us) and of many friends, acquaintances, and family members.

Rusty came to us from Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue (YGRR), a wonderful organization in Hudson, Massachusetts. Rusty was an early adoptee, #109 in a series of dogs rescued by YGRR that now exceeds 2000! Rusty, at an estimated age of 5 months, was abandoned on Interstate Route 95 in New Hampshire. He was left to meet his death, no doubt, under the wheels of some unfortunate motorist's car.

Collected by a compassionate YGRR friend, Rusty was turned in to YGRR, who discovered the minor birth defect that had probably caused his abandonment. Tufts Animal Hospital fixed his medical problem at cost, as a generous service to YGRR.

At that time, YGRR had no kennels of its own, and until a dog could be adopted YGRR placed the dog with people who generously offered kennel space. Fortunately for us and Rusty, Rusty's host was Robin Prouty in Hardwick, Massachusetts. Robin, a skilled trainer and breeder, gave Rusty the social and behavior skills that eventually earned him his title of "Wonder Dog" from our friend Susan.

Rusty was first placed with a family on Massachusetts' south shore. Rusty's first YGRR owner loved him but had to turn him back in to YGRR when the owner's family got larger and had less time and energy. Rusty had turned out to be not only handsome and well-behaved, but athletic, and needed people who could give him lots of exercise.

At this point, we had already had one YGRR golden, an enormous, affectionate, and lively 1-year-old named Teddy. Teddy was the first dog either of us had had since we were kids. He considered any dangling human hand to be a petting opportunity wasted, and would push his head under that hand to be petted. We were heartbroken and mortified when, barely a month after receiving him, he sprang from our side in the yard and ran into the road, probably to chase a squirrel, only to run into the side of an oncoming car. We grieved for him for many months, with the sympathetic support of the wonderful YGRR leaders, before we were ready for another dog.

So, thanks to Teddy we had already had our YGRR "home study," built our required exercise pen, and were otherwise ready for our new dog when we got the call that Rusty was available. On the same day Rusty was returned to Robin Prouty's farm, March 31, 1989, we fell in love with him and took him home. He hopped right into the capacious glass-covered hatchway of our car, (which we later termed "Rusty's VistaCruiser") where he his L.L. Bean bed awaited him. He was estimated to be 3 years old.

He was superbly trained, thanks to Robin, knowing "sit," "stay," "heel," and "come" (although "come" was hard to remember at first, in his exciting new environment.) He even knew to avoid pooping on cut grass! (How did you do that, Robin?!) He never barked except when he wanted to come back inside, and even then only one bark. He slept in our room on his own bed, refusing to stay on furniture even if invited. He was "best dog" at our wedding.

We took him on our honeymoon, up to Vermont and New Hampshire to visit family, camping and hiking in the mountains, and on vacations to Maine. We live in an area of woods, fields, and old apple orchards, so we took him for walks about 2 times per day, for 1 to 2 miles each time. He was so beautiful to watch, a lean, bright copper color against the bright green of the fields or amidst the fall foliage. He loved romping in the deep snow of the old orchards.

Rusty was truly an ambassador for us to all kinds of nice people; he would trot gaily up to folks with his tail held high, expecting to meet a new friend, but never imposing himself when not wanted. He was good with other dogs, never aggressive, and possessed of the right combination of dominance and submissiveness that nearly always resulted in a play session.

He was patient with our friends' children. At a picnic, he never begged, but would simply be a very attentive friend to whoever was eating! He loved to swim and would endlessly fetch things we threw over the water.....but it was funny that he never fetched stuff we threw on land. He even fetched surfers on their "boogie boards," pulling them onto the beach by the safety cord!

At home we sang songs to him, and played hide and seek with him. He was rarely alone because Dave works at home most of the time, and was a constant, quiet, companion.

We feel that we have been really blessed to have had Rusty. He passed away on September 22, 1997, at Tufts Animal Hospital, outdoors and in our arms. He had developed mega-esophagus in August which didn't become apparent until mid-September. Some fluid got into his lungs, and he died of pneumonia. It was so hard to let him go. He was truly the best dog in the whole world. We are thankful for the time he shared with us, and proud to share our handsome guy with the world on YGRR's 1998 Calendar, the August calendar page.

We know there will not be another dog like Rusty, but we are no longer looking for another Rusty. We now hope to share our lives with another YGRR golden.

Ode to Rusty:

Who endured Katy's floury hands on your head,

Who was our ambassador to Irene, Kate and Sam, Rosalie and Alexander, Kerri-Ann, and Susan and many more wonderful friends we may otherwise not have known so well,

Who was so beautiful as you ran through the orchards in winter, in spring, in summer and in fall,

Whose coat was so shiny and dark and red,

Who swam in lakes and oceans, and fetched the frisbee....and fetched the frisbee....and fetched.....,

Dave and Katy

(All JPEG format for fastest downloading.)

(Click your browser's "back" button to return to your place in the text.)