RUSTY *Courtesy Posting*

This is a courtesy posting for the family fostering this dog. They are located in the Santa Cruz area.

Rusty (ADOPTED!) is a 2-3 year old, female, Australian cattle dog mix. She is a sweet, compact, little lady, who weighs around 45 lbs. She is very attentive, inquisitive, and loves to please. Rusty is free with giving little kisses and is quite affectionate. If she was allowed to, she would be at my side at all times. Rusty has the cattle dog quality of being a Velcro dog, who wants to bond closely and be with her “person” as much as possible.  She seems frustrated that I have other animals and kids that demand my attention, and will try to compete for attention (in a cute sweet way, not at all aggressive), by squeezing herself into the mix, whenever another dog or a child is receiving any attention. She is doing fine in our big family, but she may be happier in a house where she could be the only dog, as she is quite devoted to her person.

She needs a new home, and we are fostering her, because her original person has dementia, to the point that he could no longer care for her properly. At this writing, we have fostered her for about three weeks. Rusty is currently cohabiting nicely with another dog (a pit/lab mix), cats and several kids ages 4-8 years old. She is good with the kids and tolerant of the cats. We have NOT seen any ‘nipping’ behavior, but she will try to herd the dogs and kids by jumping up and nudging them with her front paws in the direction she wants them to go, or to get some attention. We have noticed that she is pretty high energy. She should have at least one full hour of active, tongue hanging out exercise each day, to be calm and relaxed the rest of the time.

Rusty is very observant and smart, and has learned our “house rules” very quickly. I feel she will learn fast with proper training. For example, our “house rules” are that the dogs are only allowed inside in one part of the house by the back door where their beds are. She learned to stay within the boundaries quickly. Even though she is completely able to open the screen door on her own, she obeys and does not do it, and waits to be let in or out. There is also a small gate in the back yard that separates our yard from the neighbors that she could easily jump over (and she did, at first) but she has learned the rules, that the dogs stay on our side of the fence. We also recently taught her to fetch, which she enjoys playing.

She likes to sleep on her doggy bed inside at night and is completely house trained. She will bark an alert when strangers arrive, but she is friendly once they meet. She likes her chew toys and bones. She does fine riding in a car. She loves to run off leash and play with our other dogs. When on leash Rusty will pull in her eagerness to explore everything and everyone. She will also bark at other dogs, if she is on the leash. Her bark seems attention seeking, and is not aggressive.

Rusty is a sweet, smart dog that will be a devoted companion. Due to her nature, she would be happiest with someone familiar with the breed.

If you are interested in meeting Rusty - who is in the Santa Cruz area, please begin by completing the HITTGV online adoption form, at http://hittgv.org/index.php/adopt. For more information or questions about Rusty, please call Amy at:  831-331-3346 (if no answer, please leave a message).