Rusty, post-grooming
Those of you who know us well could have predicted that we wouldn’t last long with just one dog. It just isn’t sufficient. Grace needed a playmate and we needed another dog so that we wouldn’t fight over having a pet to… well, pet.
There was no question that it would be another rescue dog. We prefer mutts anyway and a homeless mutt in a shelter that is desperate for a family just tugs at our heartstrings. So, at the recommendation of a colleague at work and after looking at the photos of the available dogs on their website, we were off to Save A Dog in Sudbury, MA.
Jett wanted a smaller dog – under 20 pounds. I preferred a larger dog – 30 to 40 pounds or just slightly smaller than Grace (44 lb). Naturally Jett got her way. Or mostly so. We did test out one Miniature Pinscher who weighed in at about 12 pounds and another small dog of indeterminate pedigree, but Grace had no interest in them. Then we took a look at a 22lb 3-year-old wire-haired terrier mix and Grace came to life – the two ran around the pen, thoroughly enjoying each other. So Grace was the one who settled our dispute. And, in retrospect, there was really no reason for Jett and I to even discuss it. Our role in this process was limited to choosing dogs for Grace to try out; Grace was the one who made the final decision.
So, after paying $403 to Save A Dog, $362 to the vet for an initial checkup, heartworm medication and flea/tick treatment, and $100 to PetSmart for a much-needed grooming, we owned a second dog. Needless to say, our “Pet” budget category was blown to bits last month.
Naming him was not too difficult. His name in the shelter was “Russ” which we didn’t much care for, primarily because we wanted a 2-syllable name (Cesar say dogs need a 2-syllable name so that it is distinct from the 1-syllable commands like “down”, “stay” and “sit”). We ran through a few options, but nothing stuck. So “Russ” became “Rusty.” Simple.
The photo above is post-grooming. For comparison, here is a pre-grooming shot:
Rusty, pre-grooming
We are still getting to know him, but I can tell you this:
- Someone took good care of this dog. He is housebroken, knows some basic commands and is very responsive to our compliments and reprimands.
- He is a clown. He is like a cat in that he can amuse himself for long periods of time by batting a ball around the room. He can even toss a ball into the air and catch it!
- He is either going to keep Grace young or kill her with a heart attack. The two play endlessly and (usually) quite well. We have had a few little tiffs where Grace needed to remind Rusty that she was the alpha dog in this pack, but he didn’t seem to disagree much.
- He is a wonderful traveler. We have now put him in the truck for several trips – to the vet for his checkup and this weekend for our trip to VA – and he just curls up and sleeps. Now if he could just teach Grace how to do that…
Anyway, our pack population is back up to 4. And that feels right.