On December 3rd, 2004, at 9:16 AM, PST, Rusty 'the dog' passed away in California, USA, due to (what was determined as) lung cancer. He was a beloved 'son' and will be dearly missed. But now, he has gone off to the prestigious 'college' for genius dogs where he will be free to run and play in the waves of the great Pacific Ocean, his suffering having been completed.
Now, we who knew him are left with a hole in our lives where he once dwelled. He is irreplaceable. Anyone who crossed his path walked away calling all other Golden Retrievers a "Rusty dog" because Rusty was that unique, possessing that defined a personality we came to enjoy over the nice years he graced our lives with his presence.
Memories of him range from his first visit to PetSmart on Puyallup's South Hill, where, when asked, "What kind of cookies would you like?" he immediately dragged me to the specific kind he wanted, then sat there smiling until I put a bag of them in the basket. Then there were the times he got to go for a ride with me, and I would strap him into the passenger seat of my '79 Ford Mustang. He thought he was a 'people' as he sat there smiling at all the passers by. Then there were the numerous times he went with us to Ruston Way in North Tacoma, WA, where he got to pull his "daddy" around on the skateboard. Or the many times he visted Westhaven (in Westport, WA, on the Pacifc Ocean), where he got to run and play on the beach, or where he learned that sticks were not meant to beat and hurt him with, but were supposed to be used to cook "meat-stuff", something he came to thoroughly enjoy over the remainder of his life. |
