Rusty (Jordi) January 2011

Our family lost our good friend of sixteen years, Nicholas (a miniature
wire-haired dachshund), three years ago and the loss is still very close to
our hearts.  Although our children are now living on their own, we all share many good memories for this particular family of dogs.

At this time last year, our daughter found Jordi, a one-year-old standard
smooth-haired dachshund, on this web site.  We were all very excited and since she lives nearby, she went to check him out for us.  Her evaluation was "either we take him or she would".  So, we drove up that weekend to meet him and within a few days, he came home with us.  Later, we found out that Jordi had a sibling, and our daughter went back to the shelter to inquire.  Unfortunately, that dachshund was already adopted, but a few months later, she found Chelsea, (a retriever mix) that she adopted through your shelter.

Even though our dog was named Jordi by the shelter staff, we felt his rusty face, chest and paws made ''Rusty" feel more like the name he needed.  Rusty had never lived in a house before, and we all had lots of learning in those first weeks, but we have never regretted our decision.  At first, we were worried that Rusty might run away, but according to our son, "Rusty will never run away ... he has never had it so good!"  On that first ride home, Rusty was not accustomed to a car, so we needed to buy a crate just to get him home.  After our initial visit to the vet, we found out that Rusty had some minor medical issues and he was prescribed some meds and a daily bath for the next week.  Well, poor Rusty, who still does not like water, had a big adjustment to make that first week!  Baths are better now, but water is still a sensitive issue!

Right from the start, Rusty had a passion to play 'fetch'.  Nicholas would never play fetch, despite many attempts from our children to teach him how to do it.  The day that we adopted Rusty, our children came by to meet our new dog, one of them tossed Rusty's toy to the other end of the room:  he ran over, picked it up, brought it back, and set it down at their feet.  Rusty must have played fetch for over an hour that night, and we couldn't tell who enjoyed it more:  the dog or the humans.

In addition, unlike Nicholas, Rusty likes to bury and hide his bones and squeak toys in the garden.  This little habit has continued over the colder weather, and now we never know when or where we might find one of his treasures "buried" in the house.  As well, he also connects every bag that comes into the house with a treat for him ... so he needs to 'nose-inspect' all new items, just in case!

For the first few months, Rusty was content to sleep on newspapers or a bare floor, but he now enjoys the comfort of a cozy crate and being tucked in with a favourite blanket at night.  He has recently discovered the floor heating vent in the kitchen and in cold weather, rushes to it every chance he gets.  He comes to let us know when he needs his 'outside' time:  short walks are good, but he especially likes long trips in the car:  a big change from our first trip!

This year our family and adopted friends went to the Christmas event at the shelter.  We came home with some good memories and a picture of both Rusty and Chelsea with Santa.  Without a doubt, our adopted friends are now family members as well.

We are very happy with our adoption and would highly recommend this shelter and its staff to any family in search of a new friend.

Steve & Joann

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