Say hello to our ARL Alumni!

Rusty
April 3 , 2001

Hi. My name is Rusty, and I'm a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (or Toller, for short). My ancestors became popular in Nova Scotia and Canada in the late 1800's by breeding Golden Retrievers, Irish Setters, Farm Collies and Spaniels to get the hunting qualities they wanted. I even have the blue spots on my tongue, just like the Golden Retrievers. Tollers are great bird dogs because of the feathering on their tails. When the wind blows, so does the feathering, catching the bird's attention, giving the hunter time to shoot the bird. Tollers are now a recognized breed by the Canadian Kennel Club, but not by the American Kennel Club (but we're working on that!)      I grow to about 47 pounds and 20 -22" tall. I'm moderately active, but I'm also content to just lie quietly, as long as my humans are near. My breed comes in two different colors: liver and red. To be a Toller, you must have a pink nose and usually white somewhere on the head, chest or toes. My white spot is smack in the middle of my forehead (and all the women kiss me on it -yuck!!).

As my name says, I'm supposed to be a bird dog, especially ducks, but I don't think that's my favorite thing to do. I think that's what got me into the problems I ended up in when my humans found me at the Animal Rescue League in Pittsburgh. I don't like loud noises or storms. My current humans understand that and don't make me do anything that I'm afraid of doing, like hunting, which is why I think my original human got rid of me.

I remember the Sunday I first saw my humans at the Rescue League. It was September 20, 1998, the first day I was put in "general population" way at the end of the dark corner of the room. My tag said that I was 11 months and 1 week old, and that I might be "hard of hearing" but what they didn't seem to know was that my ears were very badly infected. I also had a bad case of kennel cough.

      My "Mom" (that sounds better than female human) was looking for a dog that needed love. Her other dog had just died a few months before and she was sad. She was looking for a dog that needed love more than most other dogs, the kind that most humans wouldn't adopt. When she saw my tag that said I might be deaf, she felt that I might be that dog. I liked her right away and when she put her hand in my cage, I just put my head in her hand and we fell in love instantly. She really couldn't see me because it was kind of dark, but she says she liked my nose! I chose her just as much as she chose me.

I was born on October 4, 1997, but we celebrate my birthday on September 21st, the day my Mom and Dad took me home and gave me a new life. They saved my life. I was so sick and when Mom and Dad got me home on that Monday night, they had already made arrangements at their vets to have me checked out the next day.

      My kennel cough ended up in a secondary lung infection, and the doctor thought I was going to die. I was lucky to have a good doctor give me the right medicines, and my new family (Mom and Dad, Grandma, and all of my new aunts) just believed in me and loved me, and got me better (thank heavens my Mom and Dad thought I was worth it).

      Now I go to work with them every day. They own their own business and I protect them there. I also get to greet the customers and make new friends. They even made a sign to hang in the window that says "RUSTY IS IN." They say I'm the best thing that ever happened to them, but I really think I'm pretty lucky, too.

See past featured alumni!

Angel's Story, January 2002
A Pack, A Pride and a Family, December 2001
Thor, featured August, 2001
Bubbles, featured June 12, 2001
Rusty, featured April 3, 2001
Kodiak, featured January 15, 2001.
Max (Pati and Wayne), featured November 1, 2000
Max (of the Blair Family), featured September 19, 2000
Ray Ray, featured June 4, 2000
Buddy; featured March 5, 2000
Abby, Sunny, and Mojo; featured January, 2000

     Do you have a dog or cat that you adopted from the Animal Rescue League? If you have a pet that you adopted from the animal shelter, please contact us with any stories, photos, or updates of your pet and their new family, and we will try and post them up here! Show your friends, family, and prospective adopters what happens after shelter life.

Send your questions for the Women's Auxiliary of the Animal Rescue League of Western PA via our

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