Rusty: Retiring a Service Animal

Warning: Part of this story has descriptions of how Rusty ended up at a shelter before we rescued him (abuse warning).

A dog is truly a man's best friend and some dogs go above and beyond the normal pet duties. So much so that they drastically improve someone's quality of life. Yes, I'm talking about Service Animals.

Service Animals are more than pets they are classified as medical devices who help their owners succeed in life. For many Service Animals are sadly unattainable due to cost, medical insurance denials, and clauses in contracts that make you think twice. In this medical minefield the story of a little puppy named Rusty comes to life.

Rusty is a chihuahua Pitbull mix that was either the result of bravery or stupidity depending on how his parents met and which one was which. His little life started out on a rather cruel note. It was a boiling hot day with temperatures well into the 100's. A box of newborn puppies were tossed out of a moving truck. Those that didn't die on impact died from the extreme heat, but one runt of a puppy nestled in the middle of the bunch survived the day. It was early evening when they were discovered by a passerby and the lone survivor was rushed to the small towns vet.

Infested with fleas, suffering from mange and dehydration the vets worked tirelessly to save the week old pups life. After a few days of non-stop care the puppy made a full recovery. He was then transferred to the local shelter. The poor pup waited for a month. No one was adopting him and the shelter was overflowing. There was nowhere they could transfer the pup and no fosters that could take him in. They prepared him for this final meal before they would say goodbye.

It was then that my guy James walked in the door. The shelter decided to put the pup out to view on the off chance he would get adopted. James normally went for medium to large dogs as pets. He wasn't interested in ankle biters, but the moment he locked eyes with the rust colored puppy he fell in love. He adopted him and named him Rusty.

Rusty was originally raised to be a pet with only a few simple commands like sit, stay, come, down, and paw. It was only after a few years that we noticed he would try to get James to sit down and then a few minutes later a seizure would happen. Rusty was somehow detecting episodes before they would happen and alerting us. Then when we moved in together he started bringing my purse to me right before I'd have an asthma attack with no training. He even saved my life one night when I stopped breathing in my sleep due to an attack. He got James from the living room and rammed the door open. The little dog then kept jumping on my chest trying to make me breathe. It worked and I woke up coughing. James watched me the rest of the night.

He's even acted as an ESA with no training by licking our tears, forcing us to sit and barking when we're mad (trying to force us to calm down), and cuddling with us when we're scared.

Even when we introduced new animals he treated them as his pups and taught the new service animal all of his tricks. When we brought home our newborn daughter he would bring her her toys and pacifier as well as use his nose to tuck her in.

Over these 12 years he has been the best dog we could ask for. Now, it's time for him to retire and let Odin go out to work. He deserves only the most comfortable pillow, the best toys, and the yummiest treats while he lives out his golden years retired in our air conditioned home.