Roysten

I've been meaning to upload this for awhile. If you watch me you've probably seen the photos and drawings I've uploaded of my second dog Bruce? Well this is Roysten, my first dog who was adopted from the same rescue that I would later adopt Bruce from.

I didn't take this photo, my dad did (I didn't have a working camera at the time), and we only have four photos of Roysten in total, although I have uploaded a drawing I did of him shortly after he died. Roysten was a mix of doberman and alsatien, and you can see the mixture in him.

We (my dad, me, and my oldest younger brother) had gone to the shelter and were looking around. My dad noticed Roysten first and called me over. Roysten was lying at the very back of his pen, staring at nothing and seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him. I just remember how depressed he looked, not just sad, but like he had completely given up on everything.

We looked at his card, his name was Roysten and he was 16 years old. He had been handed into the shelter after his original owners had gone away and left him with a neighbour. It was supposed to be temporary...but they'd never returned for him and the neighbour didn't want to/wasn't able to keep him and had eventually dropped Roysten off at the shelter.

We tried talking to him and calling him over, but we got no response, he didn't even seem to know we were there. We felt sorry for him but turned away to look at some of the other dogs.

After wandering down the side of the kennel I looked back at the kennel that held Roysten, only to see him now stood by the door of his kennel, quietly watching us, maybe it was just my imagination, but his previously apathetic and dull eyes now seemed to almost be pleading.

My dad and I went back and stroked him through the bars and asked to take him out. When we got the leash on
and took him out the pen the change in him was visible. He became more alert, he lifted his head, his eyes brightened, and he trotted happily around with us.

We couldn't leave him there, not knowing how slim his chances of adoption would be given his age, and knowing
how miserable he was there. We asked to adopt him, but he had to go back to his kennel until we were home checked. When he was put back in it was heartbreaking. He visibly sagged and gave us the saddest look before going back to lie at the back of the kennel again. We were going back for him, but he didn't know that.

The shelter staff did hurry up the process for his sake, they actually homechecked us that evening and Dad went straight to get him after. Roysten was soon exploring and meeting everyone wagging his tail before eventually curling up in his bed.

He was very sweet, quiet, obedient, and gentle. Where Bruce chose me, I guess Roysten adopted all of us.
He loved his walks, although he got tiered quickly and so I had to be careful and keep them short, or stop intermittently to let him recover. He was very loyal and even playful on occasion but usually had a dignified aloofness about him. We had to stick to familiar places with him though, we tried taking him with us to visit my grandparents once and as soon we got there he became very anxious and clingy, I guess he never forgot.....

We had to have him put down due to cancer just under a year after we adopted him, but I'd do it all over again. I wish more people would give the senior pets a chance, they need homes too, and it makes a world of difference to them.