Twiglet (or Rusty in the USA) is a cross between an Irish Setter and a Border Collie

I found Twiglet at a rescue centre when he was 7 months old Born in the UK in April 1998, he had a bad time for the first 6 months of his life- he showed signs of serious abuse and neglect. He either ran away from his previous owners or was dumped - he became a stray for a month as he was terrified of people and no one could catch him. The Blue Cross rescue kennels finally caught him and that was where I first saw him cowering in the corner of his kennel staring at a wall. He was starving and scared of people. His previous owners were located but they told the Blue Cross that they no longer wanted him.

It was love at first sight for me - and I was so lucky to have found him. He has truly enriched my life. Almost immediately he began to change - he realised people were fun and nice and his true personality began to shine through. What's a Twiglet? His name at the time I found him was Rebel - however he seemed to be the least rebellious dog I had ever met. He was too skinny (all bony and bumpy) and he looked like a twiglet - which is a British snack with no American equivalent. When we first got to the USA - he was dubbed Rusty by someone who thought I had named him after a skinny model from the 60s 'Twiggy'. As he is a rusty old dog now, the name Rusty stuck. But he'll always be Twiglet to me.

Twiglet is very easy going, loves to chase balls and go for walks He is very gentle and although he is initially shy with some dogs, he loves to play with playful dogs. Twiglet loves children and he gets along with and ignores most other animals including - cats, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, ferrets, guinea pigs and rabbits (he lived with a house rabbit for 2 months). Twiglet makes the ideal house guest - he is thoroughly trained, well-behaved and very quiet (so he won't disturb the neighbours) and he relaxes immediately indoors - so he won't run around your home.

• a house sitting assistant - He is there with me on all of my house sitting jobs befriending the animals and helping them enjoy their time so they don't miss their owners / best friends quite as much.
   
• a dog training assistant - I have taken him on some of my behavioral training visits where the dog being trained needed another dog around to provide the distractions which cause the unwanted behavior (either barking or dog to dog aggression or just a lack of socialization with other dogs).
   
• a demonstration dog - I have used him in all of my dog training classes to demonstrate the behavior that was being trained.
   
• an actor - He and I would have to pretend he had a behavior problem that students had to diagnose for their master's degree in companion animal behavior.
   
• a goose / ball chaser - Actually he was taught at a very young age never to chase other animals, so when we were offered a job in the summer of 2008 to chase geese off someone's property twice a day we used a tennis ball thrown in the direction of the geese and he would run after the ball and the geese would fly away. So, yes, he actually got paid to chase a ball for two months - what a great job.
   
• a therapy dog - Another favorite job of his - he just sits and lets elderly people or children with disabilities stroke him - he could do that all day - he leans into the stroking and puts his chin on their lap to thank them. When they stop he will lift his paw to ask for more.
   
• a world traveler - Born in the UK, Twiglet has been on trains and subways (the london underground) he has traveled to Ireland and back on a Ferry and has been on an international flight to the USA. He has lived in many different homes and for 8 months he lived with me in a small RV / camper van in between house sitting contracts.

Please read the references as he is mentioned in some of them.
 

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