Thanks to the help of a dedicated German Shepherd lover and donator to Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, we were able to bring this gorgeous gent to safety on April 1, 2006. He was emaciated and was covered with fleas and ticks. The shelter listed him as six, and he is closer to 10, the reverse of what usually happens.

The shelter workers told us Rusty stood leaning against the side of his kennel all day, and probably all night. They felt so bad for him standing there, the shelter workers took him for walks. That's bad! Well, Rusty is in the care of one of our volunteers, and now he hops around in circles when the food is coming. He sleeps in his crate all night without making a peep, cuddled into his soft bed.

We named him Rusty after his angel, Russ. Now we're feeling kind of bad about naming him Rusty - after a day of being chewed on a barked at and made to climb stairs and run around, Rusty is a bit wobbly in the mornings. It figures though, his shoulders and rib cage are huge, and his body is emaciated. He just doesn't have the energy to give - yet - buy every day he gets stronger.

Rusty has an interesting story. He has an Avid microchip registered to a Mexican veterinarian living near Mexico City, and was found stray at the Tijuana border entry. The San Diego shelter tried to get in touch with Rusty's owner with no success, and his foster mom has made multiple calls to Mexico and worn out Google's search engine, just in case Rusty can be reunited with his family. He is obviously a special dog, one with the size, intelligence and temperament of a champion. He's housebroken and tolerates small animals, he's quiet and well mannered and has sparks of absolute happiness that make us think he's not used to being in these dire straights he finds himself in today. We fear Rusty was either lost or stolen from his family long enough ago to become filthy and emaciated and in need of our help, and we fear that even with all the information out there today, for one reason or another, Rusty will need a new safe haven for the rest of his days.

If, like a lot of us, you've had a big male Shepherd who lived until 13, 14 years of age, and you remember how full of life a German Shepherd can be at ten, Rusty may be just the dog for you. Still young enough to get in trouble, but old enough so it won't require a contractor to fix the damage!

I'm smiling because I just buried a bone in the back yard! I didn't really want it but I didn't want anyone else to have it! See that dirt on my nose? I'm proud of it!