Rusty, our rescue pup

Meet our newest family member – Rusty!

I have missed living with dogs since I first moved away for college at 18.  When Ryan came along, and as he got older, I desperately wanted him to get to experience growing up with pets.  I also didn’t want to get a dog if we wouldn’t be home most of the day, and I didn’t want to risk dog ownership while renting.  I worried with a dog that changing pet agreements could potentially put me in a position where I would have to choose behind Ryan’s well-being and stability of living environment and keeping a dog.

So I held off.  I waited until I was a stay at home mom, then I waited until we owned our own home.  The wait was agonizing, Ryan asked for a dog all the time and I really missed having dogs around.  As soon as we closed on our house, I was looking at dogs.

I filled out an application to adopt a pug from a rescue group in Cal’s home state of Texas, since there are so many more dogs in need of homes down there.   That didn’t work out because they are currently not adopting out of state.  Even before filling out the application, I had been looking at another dog with a more local rescue group.  He was an adorable Boxer Shepherd mix, about 4 months old, named Atticus.  I showed Cal what a cute puppy he was, but I was looking for a pug and didn’t want a puppy.

After following up with the Texas organization several weeks later, I was told they no longer adopted to my state.  I was disappointed (especially since I had waited several weeks thinking they would at least consider my application as they had adopted to my state several times in the recent past).  A few days later though, the rescue organization in my area (Canine Commitment of New England) posted on Facebook that that puppy and his sister were still looking for homes.  I showed Cal the post and we agreed that I would fill out an application.  A few days later we were meeting Rusty and of course we decided to take him home.

Rusty is a super sweet puppy.  He was spent his first few months of life in a shelter in Mississippi, until the folks at Canine Commitment brought him up to New Hampshire to help him find a home.  He was not at all what I was initially looking for, but he is a perfect fit in our family.  He is sweet and loving, and not nearly as puppy-like (energy-wise) as I anticipated.  He is chill and laid-back, but he loves going on hikes with me and the kids and jumping on every rock that he sees.  He always seems to be at my feet, no matter where I am or what I am doing.