Tuesday Muse - Rusty has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Am Sharing with Nancy for Tuesday Muse.   Today was a sad day as we said good-bye to a faithful friend.  My mom's dog, Rusty was put to rest this afternoon.  He had now crossed the "Rainbow Bridge" and is happy and health once again.   Rusty as a young puppy in 1998 - Wasn't he just the cutest.   Today I took one last picture of him:     Rusty - 1998-2013,  Rest In Peace sweet boy. Rusty was the son of our dogs, Rebel and Angel.  He was 1/2 American Eskimo and 1/2 Chow. His father, Rebel passed away in 2007 at the age of 15 just short actually of his 16th birthday. His mother, Angel passed away in 2011 at the age of 13. His brother Nome passed away a couple of years ago.  They are once again together. My mom picked him out of their first litter of pups and named him Rusty because he was the most orange toned of all 3 pups. My mom has never been much of an animal person but she loved this dog even though he was way to large for her to handle and really play with.  She spoiled him by giving him Vita-Bones and Dog Biscuits every night before she brought him inside for the night.  She always called him, "Rusty-boy" and it was really hard for her today when they came to put him down.  She said her head knew it was the right thing to do but her heart was telling her something different. Rusty was always a very "temperamental" dog.  The Chow in him made him a bit more aggressive type dog then we had hoped he would be.  He wouldn't let hardly anyone near his pen.  He like my mom, Mike, Greta and Myself but not all the time.  At times he would growl and snarl at us and we knew it best to just leave him be.  He could also be so loving and sweet but would never let Coleen near his pen so she knew better then to try and pet him.  He made a very good watch dog around the place so my mom felt safe at night in her house as she brought him in every night unless he was in one of his "moods" and then he stayed outside in his pen. One of my favorite stories about him was the time that a serviceman came to work on the sewer and needed to shut the water off.  I happened to catch him walking down the driveway out of the corner of my eye and I jumped up to warn him that the dog would be there and barking at him.  The faucet was outside his pen but he couldn't get out.  Needless to say I made it to the dog just as the man reached for the faucet and Rusty started snapping, snarling & jumping up on the fence.  The poor man jumped about 2 feet straight in the air and said a bunch of words I can't repeat.  I told him I tried to warn him but was to late.  I'm surprised he didn't have heart failure because Rusty scared him half to death.  It was funny and yet not funny. He always hated the Hot Air Balloon Festival and we could always tell if there were balloons in the air as he could hear them while they were still quite far off and would bark and bark until he was almost hoarse from barking at them.  My mom would always bring him inside so he wouldn't get to agitated.  He was the same way with thunder storms. Rusty in the winter of 2008 when we had a ton of snow on the ground.  Even though it was cold outside he preferred to stay outside then spend the day in the house. In recent weeks he'd been slowing down more and more and slowly started losing interest in even barking at Coleen and wasn't eating hardly at all.  His back legs were getting weaker and weaker and we finally made the choice to say good-bye to him and have him put down.  It was a very hard thing to do but he's at peace now and no longer in any pain. Even though he wasn't the friendliest of dogs we all loved him and he will be missed. Rusty - May of 2012 while he was still healthy.  Thank you for being a faithful friend: Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.   All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.  You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.   Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....    Author unknown...