Goodbye, Rusty

Rusty passed away this morning. He was 15 years old. And while I know it is a good thing that he isn't suffering anymore, today has been the hardest day of my life so far. I know I am pretty fortunate if this is the worst thing I have experienced to date, but it still hurts. We have had Rusty for more than half of my life! To some people it might seem silly to grieve for a dog as much as I am, but Rusty was not a dog, he was a member of our family in every sense of the word. And I know everyone's dog is special to them, but Rusty was special to everyone who knew him. My dad said it best when he said, "I've never had a dog who has touched as many lives as Rusty has."

We really feel so blessed to have been entrusted for 15 years with who I'm sure has to be one of Heavenly Father's choicest spirits. There are so many things to love about Rusty (just look at him!) but I wanted to write down some of the things I love about Rusty and my favorite memories of him!

1. Rusty has the sweetest, purest heart. We always say Rusty has never met a stranger. He is the most loving, happy dog I have ever seen! Everyone who knows him, loves him. In fact, he has more friends in my parent's neighborhood than they do! Everyone knows them as Rusty's mom and dad! Rusty would do anything to please you, and he ALWAYS has a smile on his face. His tail is always wagging and he loves everyone. My dad even told me that in the Fall, Rusty saw a scarecrow in a neighbor's yard and ran up to, tail wagging, thinking it was a new friend who would undoubtedly give him a pat on the head!

2. He likes to walk with his leash in his mouth! It always cracks doctors up when Rusty grabs his leash in his mouth to walk himself. He has done it since he was a puppy! Even last week, when he literally couldn't walk a few steps without someone helping him, he carried his own leash in his mouth!

3. Rusty is a food thief! When he lived with Jaimi and I while my parents were living in England, Rusty always stole Jaimi's food! He grabbed her sandwich off the counter when she wasn't looking and one time she was sitting on the couch holding a piece of pizza and he casually walked by and swiped it out of her hand! Another time Kristyn was back in my room writing a paper and Jaimi and I left her there with Rusty to run an errand. When we came back, there was an empty pizza box on the floor in the living room and crumbs on Rusty's beard! He had gotten our leftover pizza that was on the table without her even hearing him! He's that good!

4. Rusty always knows when you're feeling down and tries to comfort you. In case of a broken heart, Rusty is the best remedy. I can't even remember how many times Rusty would walk up and put his head on my chest when he could tell I was sad about something. One morning I woke up with food poisoning and I was literally unable to get out of bed. Rusty stayed in bed with me for 12 hours without eating or going out to the bathroom, until I was able to get up and take care of him. I sure wish he was here today to comfort me.

5. Rusty loves ME! Sure he loves everyone in our family, especially my dad, but Rusty and I have a special bond. It doesn't matter how long I have been gone, when he sees me, he about pees his pants! I think it might be because both of us were always in trouble ;) When Rusty was younger, if I layed down on the floor to watch tv, he would some stand over the top of me and plop down right on top of me! He just can not be close enough to you! Even the other night as I was watching tv, I layed down next to him and, as much as he could, put his head on my lap and kept his paw on my leg.

6. Rusty was the San Marcos ward mascot. Brother Niemela always announced Ward Prayer as being at Rusty's house and Rusty made sure he was the center of attention at every ward activity. During the prayer, Rusty would walk from person to person, nudging them to pet him and putting his head in their laps! We used to crack up during the prayer, because it was so hard to hear over his panting! I remember taking him to FHE one night when the activity was soccer and Rusty got right in the middle of the game and took off with the ball! Everyone was chasing him and screaming that he was going to pop the ball!

7. Rusty is a stomach on legs. We have that in common! When he lived with me and Jaimi, Rusty really packed on the pounds (go figure!) and people would stop to tell me how big he was! (He had since lost weight, don't worry) One night I took him to a softball game and some guy in another ward told me Rusty was fat. I promptly turned around and told the fool that Rusty thought he was the fat one! And he was! Still...that wasn't nice of me.

8. Rusty loves kids! When he was younger and would get out, we found him countless times, in a yard with some kids playing in sprinklers. Every time he saw a kid, his tail would wag! I think one of his favorite people was Jessica's daughter, Bella. She was only two years old and not at all afraid of this huge, brown dog, and he absolutely loved her! He wouldn't stay away from her!

9. Rusty was such a protector! Before he came to live with me and Jaimi in Arizona, he wasa bit of a wild man. Ok, so my mom called him the Wild Man of Borneo. Always sweet as pie, but he had a penchant for running off to find some kids in the neighborhood to play with if you didn't keep an eye on him. As soon as he got to Arizona, he changed. Literally overnight. It was like he realized he had a job to do....take care of me and Jaimi. (Heaven knows that's a big job!) He stopped running and would watch over us like a guard dog! Rusty never barked, so if he did, we knew to pay attention! We only called the police once while he lived with us because we thought someone was in the house! ;) When my mom and I were in Texas by ourselves, we heard Ollie and Rusty go completely crazy late one night. When we got up, we realized someone was trying to break in and had scraped off the putty and removed one of the window panes right next to the door handle of our back door. The scary part was that it was obvious people were home and my bedroom light was on so it was obvious someone was awake. It wasn't someone looking to steal something. The police told us Rusty and Ollie might have saved our lives!

10. Rusty is a Canes fan! Either that or a just a really good sport! He always let me dress him up for Canes games and he would hang out and watch the game on tv in his favorite shirt. Well it was his only shirt, none of the others fit him! He even let me put a trucker hat on him and he was always willing to pose for pictures!

This post seems so insufficient to describe how truly special Rusty is. I know that we have been so blessed to have Rusty as a part of our family and he has brought so much joy to my life. There will never be another dog like Rusty and no one can ever take his place!

I love you, Rusty!