"I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man". - Mahatma Gandhi

Allie & I first met Rusty at an SDRO Petco Pet Day. He was a large, balding, sad looking Chesapeake. I felt so sorry for him I wanted to take him home myself. I knew Allie & I could make him a happy dog again and help him find his "forever home."

However something even better came up for Rusty. Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) was considering working with SRO to foster some of our older dogs. The girls participating in the program would be completely responsible for Rusty, including feeding, grooming, walking and picking up after him. But most importantly they would be responsible for loving him.

From time to time I would hear about Rusty and how well he was doing and I wanted to see him again. Rusty is now healthy and happy. He has a beautiful new coat of fur and more friends and love any dog could hope for.

I met the girls who are taking care of Rusty. They call themselves "Team Rusty." I found out how much they have done for Rusty and also how much Rusty has done for them.

Here is their story.

On October 11, 2009 Rusty came to us here at Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility for young women. The first time we heard about Rusty our hearts were broken. None of us could comprehend why anyone would let this wonderful, harmless, old Chesapeake Bay retriever get the way he was. He had barely any hair, elbows and feet and tail were raw, probably from waging it on the concrete at anyone who approached him hoping someone would pick him and not pass him up for a younger, smaller dog. But no one picked him. His eyes screamed "help me".

We first found out about Rusty through SDRO (Senior Dog Rescue of Oregon). They had let us know that a dog had been at a local shelter for a very long time and was about to be euthanized. At that moment our hearts dropped and our superintendent at the time, Lory Humburt said "We'll take him!" He would have been euthanized the next day. Thank you Senior Dog Rescue and Lory for helping us save Rusty!

Throughout Rusty's years here at Oak Creek he has not only grown on all of us, but he's grown a lot of his hair back too. Many youth come in and out of this facility. Mainly OYA (Oregon Youth Authority) youth are held in this facility, but DOC (Department Of Corrections) also hold youth here until they are 25 years old. Many of Rusty's caregivers have been DOC, mainly because we are here with him all the time. Currently Rusty has four caregivers, three of which are DOC and one OYA. We all praise this dog as if he were a king. He's the biggest sweetheart ever.

Rusty's two main caregivers are Jessica Brown 24, who will be leaving us shortly, but has been with Rusty since day one. They are connected at the hip. Also, Vanessa Morris 22, have also been around him from the beginning. People like to call us moms to be funny. Every day we have a schedule we run with Rusty.

Here is a small piece of it: wake up, say hello, good morning and how did you sleep, give him breakfast, medication, and a potty break. During the day he goes to work with us where he either sleeps peacefully the whole time or talk to everyone that walks by. Every day he gets fed at breakfast and dinner, medication, and tons of potty breaks on top of love, love, and a lot more love. You know the old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Well, we've taught Rusty so much. He can sit, lie down, shake (with both paws at different times), sit pretty, stay, rollover, and he even knows how to say please quietly. He doesn't really know what an inside voice is. All of us have been so thankful to be able to have Rusty. Not knowing exactly how old he is doesn't bother us. It just make it more fun. He's been nothing but the sweetest, would never hurt a fly, and we love him so much. We would like to give big kudos to SDRO for putting in the effort in helping us get Rusty. Without them we wouldn't be where we are right now.

Since Rusty, we have inspired ourselves to adopt and never stop adopting. We love animals! With the loving help of our QMHP (Qualified Mental Health Professional), Robyn Eicks, we drew up plans to start a kennel and came up with an emblem and the name "Canines at the Creek". We have so many plans to build this kennel so we could take in SDRO dogs, rehabilitate them and get them ready to go to good homes. Even though our plans have not gone through yet, we still hope they will someday and our hearts still go out to any dog in need.

Our superintendent, Mike Riggans, loves our Dog program and supports Team Rusty which is the name his care givers use. We know there are many dogs who need help and we recently heard about a box of puppies found on the side of the highway. We feel so sad for those poor baby puppies. Those of us on Team Rusty are hoping to be able to help more dogs in need and get them ready to be adopted as a loveable friend and companion we've learned a lot about training and rehabilitating an older dog by working with Rusty as well as working with younger dogs.

We sincerely hope to be able to expand "Canines at the Creek" in the future. We would like to thank SDRO for giving us the opportunity to give Rusty a loving home. We encourage you to support SDRO because there are many homeless dogs like Rusty out there who desperately need someone to love them.

Rusty gives us unconditional love and opportunity to give it back. Even though we've made mistakes that resulted in our coming to Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility. Oregon Youth Authority has provided us with the opportunity to change and learn new skills. With these skills we have decided to give back. We want to make a statement to the community, or even to the world, that we care. We have become kind, loving and responsible citizens who want to make a difference by helping whenever we can. We think throw away animals are just like us, they also deserve a chance. Please help SDRO help them. All dogs need our care love and affection. They have just as many feelings as we do. It's the least we can do for them.

Written by:
Vanessa Morris & Jessica Brown

Rusty won the 2010 Oregon Vet Medical Association Companion Dog Award for his work with the girls at Oak Creek.



Back to
Jenny & Allie Stories Main Page