WACO, TX — Rusty thought he was the luckiest dog in Waco.
At just 2-years-old, Rusty spent half his life at the shelter. His owners surrendered him as a puppy in February 2020 because he was hyper. Rusty was placed in a foster home for two months and then was sent to a rescue in Idaho.
Two months later, the rescue sent him back to Waco because he was not dog-friendly and they weren't able to place him in a home.
Over the next couple of months, Rusty became depressed and frustrated, which caused him to act out in his kennel and towards other dogs.
In November 2020, Rusty was adopted, but a month later he was surrendered back to the shelter for being destructive.
Through the work of staff at the Waco Animal Shelter, Rusty worked through his problems and was finally placed with adopters.
After 419 days in the shelter, Rusty was going to his forever home, or so he thought.
After one day with his new family, Rusty was returned to the Waco Animal Shelter. According to the Humane Society of Central Texas, Rusty's adopters said he was "too much work."
The adopters reached said they returned Rusty because he bit them. They said they made the decision in order to protect their family.
Now it is back to square one for the 2-year-old dog. March 31 marks Rusty's 420th day in the shelter.
This article was written by Anissa Connell and Sydney Isenberg for KXXV.
