Happy Valentines, Byron and Larry

As a lot of stories on the available dog page are heartbreaking, Dusty’s story will tug at your heartstrings as well. He has had a rough 8 years of life and is now going to be shown what a dogs life should really be about. Although I just got Dusty in my home, I am able to get this story out to you asap as Dusty had an Angel that rescued him and has had him in her home off and on the last few months and knows him well. This story will also be written like a book as this is how Patty started the write up and was a wonderful way to tell Dusty’s story so I would like to keep it that way! So Kudos to Patty on this.

Dusty is an 8 Yr. Old Purebred Golden Male.  He is neutered and up to date.  He weighs in at 95 pounds but is not overweight (now).  He is known as a gentle giant.

Chapter 1:  Dusty was given as a Christmas gift in 2005 to his humans.  All is well for now.

Chapter 2:  The gift of Dusty to the family did not go as planned and were not as excited as one would hope and thought that dogs should be outdoor animals.  So Dusty goes from a warm home to a garage where he now lives, except when tied out in the back yard.  He is now an outdoor dog.  He is walked once, maybe twice a day for a couple blocks, but the rest of his life is spent without a lot of human interaction.  But despite all this Dusty remains sweet, loving, and soaks up all the attention he can get when the humans are around.  Overall, he lives a life most often curled up in his kennel in the garage.  For 8 years this was Dusty’s life, him thinking he had it pretty well for this is all he knew.

Chapter 3:  Dusty’s angel (Neighbor Mary) appears.  Although she has never seen him she has heard about him from a near by dog walker.  Determined to help Dusty in any way she could, she came to Dusty house one warm day and asked his humans if she could take him on her daily walks. They agreed.  Walking into the garage to get him for his first walk, she fought back tears as she found out he could barely walk, was overweight, and could not use one of his back legs.  Reaching in to pet him, she notices a large mass on his chest. Instead of a walk that day, she asked if she could bring him to the vet to have his hip and mass checked out.  They said yes.  The vet found his hips to be fine, the mass just a fatty cyst, the right rear leg not sure , but is now doing well with a daily dose of Rimadyl.. For 6 months this angel (Mary) appeared to give him his daily walks.  In time Dusty got stronger and stronger and lost all his excess weight.  When his humans went out of town, his angel babysat him and he was introduced to indoor living for the first time and loved it.  He slept on the bed for the first time, his curly red coat began to shine again, his limp was gone, and he was learning life outside his garage and backyard.  And yet, every night, even in the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter, he returned to sleep in his kennel in the garage.

Chapter 4:  January 2014  Six months have passed and Mary has fallen in love with Dusty and helped him to blossom.  She has also developed a relationship with his humans. So much so she got brave and asked his humans if she could keep Dusty as her own. They agreed and Dusty now has a new mom and new life.  She would love to keep Dusty as her own but has 2 large dogs at home already and a small home.  She looks to find him a new home and everyone she has talked to mentions RAGOM and so she decides this is the place to ensure that Dusty’s final chapter in life has the happy ending he deserves.

Chapter 5:  As you can see, Dusty has come in to my home and is making himself at home already...stay tuned!

Here are some things that Mary the angel has to say about Dusty:

1. There is not a sweeter, more loving dog in the world. He just soaks up all love shown to him and gives it back ten fold.

2. He has not one ounce of aggression in him with people or dogs.

3. Walks fantastic on a flat collar- no pulling at all.

4. Gets along well with other dogs- no snarkiness of any kind. He will push his way to her to get his share of attention.

5. Loves tennis balls and can hold 3 in his mouth at a time.

6. Never exposed to cats, but because of his temperament, just mellow, go with the flow, cannot imagine this would be a problem.

7. Has free roam when he stays with her, but he is also used to his kennel if foster wants to use that.

8. Completely house broken, never had an accident in her house, even though he had never been inside before she took him for an overnight.

9. Loves children!!

Dusty wants to thank his angel (Mary) for giving him a second chance at living the Golden life and he will NEVER forget you!!