Rusty
A donation was made in memory of Rusty by Doctors and Staff of the North Creek Pet Hospital on Feb 24, 2010.
Rusty, our Jack Russell Terrier, came to us in 1995 as the sweetest Christmas present we’d ever had the pleasure of giving our son, Aaron. He was just over 3 pounds when we picked him up on Christmas Eve and we all fell in love with this little bit of a puppy who would come to mean so much to so many people, but especially to the three of us! He was a charmer right from the start. A quick learner, he had us wrapped around his little stubby tail immediately with his zest for life!
In fact, a good friend looked at him on that first day as he sat on our patio and said, “Look, he’s got a kickstand” and that is what his little tail looked like as it helped to balance him on his haunches!
Rusty was usually with one of us, ready for action at the slightest provocation. When he was quiet, we knew to look for him because Trouble could have been his middle name. He gloried in entertaining his humans as we came to call ourselves! I found him in our powder room one time, nearly buried in a roll of toilet paper. The fun I imagined he must have had as he unrolled the entire thing had me laughing and I can only guess how he bounced around in delight pulling all of the paper off the roll.
When Rusty was about 8 months old, we found that a complication in his liver might cut his life short. We were devastated but Dr Bruhn from North Creek Pet Hospital in Bothell strongly suggested we begin feeding him a vegetarian diet as a way to possibly prolong his life. He told us to take him home and love him as much as we could because he wasn’t so sure Rusty would live much longer than 3 or 4 years.
As we found from then on, Rusty did things his own way as with the help of his vegie diet, he lived to be a few months over 14 years old!
Rusty and Aaron went to Canine Academy and graduated with the suggestion that they return for a refresher course! He knew how and when to do things but often only did them at his option!
He became quite a basketball and soccer player with the high school boys, loved to chase the baseball when anyone hit it, enticed us to chase him around the house nearly everyday, snarked around in our sheets and comforters with joy, entertained our friends and family, and just generally became the center of attention no matter where he was!
Rusty had a special friend, his “Auntie Sue”, who was as entertained and enchanted as we were. Her chocolate Labrador, Thor, was Rusty’s first dog friend. Sue and her husband Arne treated Thor just as we did Rusty. He was a true member of their family who was entertaining as only a Lab can be! Sadly he passed away a few years ago and is still very missed.
Rusty became particularly fond of rocks and most always carried a very large one around in his jaw when outside. We all knew to NEVER get close to his rocks as he guarded them with a growl – but he was pleased whenever we managed to get one away from him and rolled it along the ground for him to chase after and capture once again!
He was also very good at “springing” straight up and down from a standing position and we once counted 142 jumps in a row – they stopped only because Randy stopped him, not because Rusty was done!
Our son went off to college in Chicago when Rusty was 3 and that was a difficult time for both of them. Rusty was furious that Aaron would leave him and when Aaron came home the first time, would not even look at him! Rusty had spent an entire month on Aaron’s bed, pining for his master, and he was positively insulted that he’d left him. By the time Aaron came home the second time, all was forgiven and he greeted him at the airport from then on with so much excitement, it warmed our hearts and made us realize how much he loved us all, but Aaron in particular. Aaron began his career in Chicago in 2002 and lives there still.
Aaron’s soon to be bride, Vanessa, even became quite fond of Rusty. The first time she met him in 2005, we are sure she wondered why we’d ever have such a troublemaker. By the time she and Aaron visited us in October 2009 as husband and wife, even Vanessa was happy to see him and he snuggled in bed with her as though he’d always done so. We’d teased Vanessa all along that Rusty would be a delightful ring bearer in their wedding – and we were only half teasing!
As the years went by, Rusty became “Mom and Dad’s dog” but he never forgot Aaron was his true master. In 2008 he slowed down considerably and was no longer able to run up and down our hills in Mill Creek, and in 2009 he was no longer able to even walk up the hill if he walked down the hill with us. By Christmas he was having some difficulty getting up our stairs and we knew that time was coming to a close on this life Rusty had created for us.
Dr Bruhn discovered that all was not well in his fragile little body in January 2010 and I sadly brought our “baby dog” home, knowing that the pleasure and love he’d bestowed upon us for over 14 years was about to end.
Two days after the visit to North Creek Pet Hospital, Dr Bruhn called to see how he was and I was happy to tell him that things were actually going pretty well. He laughed, and said “Well, just like always, Rusty is going to do this HIS way!”
And he did. He lived for another month and became quite a lapdog during that time. He’d never had time for sitting on laps before – he had waaaay too many things to do.
On February 4, 2010 Rusty would not eat a thing all day – that is, until he smelled the barbeque pork I was eating. He sat on my lap and had about five pieces of it (yes, he was a vegetarian, but this was different – he finally found something that appealed to him that day). He sat on “Dad’s” lap while we watched a movie and then walked to the bottom of our stairs which was his signal to go to bed.
I carried him upstairs, sat down on the bed with him, and knew right away that something wasn’t right. I called to Randy and together we helped our little Jack Russell Terrier pass into that dark night. At 4 minutes after midnight on February 5, 2010, Rusty passed away and part of all of us went with him.
Rusty is terribly missed but we have in our minds and hearts his spirit that brought us so much joy and love. Oh how we all loved that doggie!
by Randy, Pat, Aaron and Vanessa R
In fact, a good friend looked at him on that first day as he sat on our patio and said, “Look, he’s got a kickstand” and that is what his little tail looked like as it helped to balance him on his haunches!
Rusty was usually with one of us, ready for action at the slightest provocation. When he was quiet, we knew to look for him because Trouble could have been his middle name. He gloried in entertaining his humans as we came to call ourselves! I found him in our powder room one time, nearly buried in a roll of toilet paper. The fun I imagined he must have had as he unrolled the entire thing had me laughing and I can only guess how he bounced around in delight pulling all of the paper off the roll.
When Rusty was about 8 months old, we found that a complication in his liver might cut his life short. We were devastated but Dr Bruhn from North Creek Pet Hospital in Bothell strongly suggested we begin feeding him a vegetarian diet as a way to possibly prolong his life. He told us to take him home and love him as much as we could because he wasn’t so sure Rusty would live much longer than 3 or 4 years.
As we found from then on, Rusty did things his own way as with the help of his vegie diet, he lived to be a few months over 14 years old!
Rusty and Aaron went to Canine Academy and graduated with the suggestion that they return for a refresher course! He knew how and when to do things but often only did them at his option!
He became quite a basketball and soccer player with the high school boys, loved to chase the baseball when anyone hit it, enticed us to chase him around the house nearly everyday, snarked around in our sheets and comforters with joy, entertained our friends and family, and just generally became the center of attention no matter where he was!
Rusty had a special friend, his “Auntie Sue”, who was as entertained and enchanted as we were. Her chocolate Labrador, Thor, was Rusty’s first dog friend. Sue and her husband Arne treated Thor just as we did Rusty. He was a true member of their family who was entertaining as only a Lab can be! Sadly he passed away a few years ago and is still very missed.
Rusty became particularly fond of rocks and most always carried a very large one around in his jaw when outside. We all knew to NEVER get close to his rocks as he guarded them with a growl – but he was pleased whenever we managed to get one away from him and rolled it along the ground for him to chase after and capture once again!
He was also very good at “springing” straight up and down from a standing position and we once counted 142 jumps in a row – they stopped only because Randy stopped him, not because Rusty was done!
Our son went off to college in Chicago when Rusty was 3 and that was a difficult time for both of them. Rusty was furious that Aaron would leave him and when Aaron came home the first time, would not even look at him! Rusty had spent an entire month on Aaron’s bed, pining for his master, and he was positively insulted that he’d left him. By the time Aaron came home the second time, all was forgiven and he greeted him at the airport from then on with so much excitement, it warmed our hearts and made us realize how much he loved us all, but Aaron in particular. Aaron began his career in Chicago in 2002 and lives there still.
Aaron’s soon to be bride, Vanessa, even became quite fond of Rusty. The first time she met him in 2005, we are sure she wondered why we’d ever have such a troublemaker. By the time she and Aaron visited us in October 2009 as husband and wife, even Vanessa was happy to see him and he snuggled in bed with her as though he’d always done so. We’d teased Vanessa all along that Rusty would be a delightful ring bearer in their wedding – and we were only half teasing!
As the years went by, Rusty became “Mom and Dad’s dog” but he never forgot Aaron was his true master. In 2008 he slowed down considerably and was no longer able to run up and down our hills in Mill Creek, and in 2009 he was no longer able to even walk up the hill if he walked down the hill with us. By Christmas he was having some difficulty getting up our stairs and we knew that time was coming to a close on this life Rusty had created for us.
Dr Bruhn discovered that all was not well in his fragile little body in January 2010 and I sadly brought our “baby dog” home, knowing that the pleasure and love he’d bestowed upon us for over 14 years was about to end.
Two days after the visit to North Creek Pet Hospital, Dr Bruhn called to see how he was and I was happy to tell him that things were actually going pretty well. He laughed, and said “Well, just like always, Rusty is going to do this HIS way!”
And he did. He lived for another month and became quite a lapdog during that time. He’d never had time for sitting on laps before – he had waaaay too many things to do.
On February 4, 2010 Rusty would not eat a thing all day – that is, until he smelled the barbeque pork I was eating. He sat on my lap and had about five pieces of it (yes, he was a vegetarian, but this was different – he finally found something that appealed to him that day). He sat on “Dad’s” lap while we watched a movie and then walked to the bottom of our stairs which was his signal to go to bed.
I carried him upstairs, sat down on the bed with him, and knew right away that something wasn’t right. I called to Randy and together we helped our little Jack Russell Terrier pass into that dark night. At 4 minutes after midnight on February 5, 2010, Rusty passed away and part of all of us went with him.
Rusty is terribly missed but we have in our minds and hearts his spirit that brought us so much joy and love. Oh how we all loved that doggie!
by Randy, Pat, Aaron and Vanessa R
