Meet Rusk 💙
 
Born in May 2026, this 12-pound sweetheart is part of our East Texas crew. Rusk, his mom Trinity (blue merle), another mama named Sabine, and their eight puppies were surrendered to a small rural shelter, so we packed up and brought the whole family to NTASR. 🥹
 
Rusk is smart, playful, curious, and very much a “what are we doing? I wanna help!” kind of puppy. He loves being included, has great recall in the field, walks nicely on leash, and is already working on sit, down, and stay. He’s a FAST learner.
 
He’s medium energy with an excellent off switch. Give him some good outdoor playtime and he’s perfectly happy to come inside, curl up at your feet, and chill. He’s also a water-loving little weirdo who thinks the kiddie pool is the best invention ever and carries stuffed animals around like tiny emotional support toys. 😂
 
Rusk is getting lots of real-world experience with horses, goats, cats, and kids. Horses? Meh. Goats? Interesting, but no chasing. Cats? OBSESSED and still learning that they may not want to play. Kids? LOVES them and is learning to listen to their cues.
 
He’s also doing amazing with his house manners and has been accident-free since day one. Crate time? Sleeps quietly from around 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. because apparently he has a better sleep schedule than the rest of us.
Basically, Rusk is a sweet, smart little guy who loves to play, loves to learn, and REALLY wants to be your sidekick. 💙