Who rescued Who?

On December 4, 2011 I found myself at the Burbank Animal Shelter just before closing time. Honestly I have no idea why I was there. I never owned a dog in my life and was quite satisfied with that fact. However, I had at the time, begun getting together to play cards with friends who were, are, and always will be dog lovers.  I kept hearing so much about their dogs and interacted  with those pooches so much at our gatherings that I actually started to consider their continual suggestions that I take the plunge.

The best advice my friend April gave me was to figure out what kind of dog I wanted and when the time comes, my dog would choose me.

So, I went there more or less to test the waters. It is one thing to imagine having a pet. Reality is quite another thing. I walked through those shelter doors and the intensity of a room filled with stray dogs excited at the presence of someone visiting was overwhelming. I found myself catching my eye on a small Manchester Terrier/Jack Russell mix. He was roughly 5 years old by their estimates. He was reddish brown with light brown eyes that seemed to match his coat. He looked as terrified to see me as I was to take him home. I walked on to look at others but kept finding myself strolling back to his cage. Our eyes locked. It felt like he was saying "Get me the hell outta here!" He didn't have a name just a number A38blahblah blah. The shelter was about to close. I went home and I started thinking of names and the best kind of dog food and I realized I was hooked. That damn dog had me wrapped around his little paw. Suddenly he had a name -"Rusty" and I knew I was about to have a permanent roommate.

The next morning, I raced down there and  grabbed him up before anyone else saw the beautiful creature I had.

Now, I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I didn't have Rusty around.

Look at his face! What's not to love?