Bucks Lake

Several people have asked to see some pictures of Rusty, so we have set up a Picasa album. You can see it by going over to the column on the right and scrolling down through the Links to “Rusty Pictures.”  You should go directly to the pictures from  there.

Rusty: 12-30-2001 to 10-14-2010

Most of you who look at this website know Rusty as only that red dog who is sometimes in the picture. Many more, however, know him as the most friendly dog at Bucks Lake.

Last January we took him to the vet for shots, and they discovered he had a huge abdominal tumor, and they said he should live another three months. We got nine.

He was family. We brought him home from the breeder in Madeira at eight weeks as a 35 pound ball of fluff. He captured our hearts, and our grand children gave him his name in honor of his beautiful red coat. All of his life we were able to trust him totally with children of any age, not something you can do with all dogs. I have lost count of the times I ran into people on Mile High Road who said, “You must be Rusty’s dad.” He knew everyone, and they all loved him.

During the last year, his illness must have been bothering him because he became short tempered with just a couple of dogs at Bucks, and had some tiffs with them. And the owners told us to keep him contained, or else….. I guess I resent that, because, after all, he was sick. But we kept him on the wire the last two summers, and many people came by to see why he had not been visiting. But that’s water under the bridge now.

We were in Reno with him today when he died. He started having seizures last night, and they became constant, and we knew we were out of options. So we went to the vet and had him put to sleep. It was quiet, merciful, and dignified.

And we are missing  him, terribly……..

Mike and Linda