Rufus dog
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We do everything we can to provide essential care for thousands of strayĪnd abandoned dogs who need us, now more than ever. Be warned that Rufus is very strong on his lead and can pull like a freight train! He is house trained and can be left for a few hours once he's settled in. It's advisable that Rufus be prevented and discouraged from getting on the furniture also as he has shown some possessive behaviours there too. Rufus hasn't been around children and as he does having some resource guarding issues, we are only going to rehome him to an ADULT household. He can certainly have friends for walking with, but his adopters will need to be mindful if there are any toys about. He doesn't like his toys being taken out of his mouth and will guard them, so he will need to be the only dog in the home because of this. Rufus gets along with other dogs but does have a tendency to be something of a bulldozer around them. He's a busy chap who loves to give everything a good sniff and investigation, though he is usually just looking for any discarded toys! Rufus enjoys being made a fuss of but if there is a toy around, you'll probably be passed over for it! My wife and I both are.Rufus is a big ol' boy who is often seen carrying his toys around the centre. His benevolent nature and his focus are the guiding forces in my life. He’s silent and he demands my best every single day. … He helps me keep things in perspective. “You can feel helpless when your health is a house of cards. “I ran track and cross country growing up,” Zook said. “That’s part of his greatness,” Zook said.īut if Zook says, “Lie down,” Rufus does immediately, even in mid-chase after a cat. He’s really fast.” They also have a trail to go to where Rufus can run. Then he called Rufus, and the dog flew to his side. At a park near his home, Zook told Rufus to lie down as Zook went to the other side of a baseball field from the dog. Zook learned that Rufus is as swift as the wind. 'Hes a big, beautiful, burly dog that loves everybody,' he said. Rufus does get playtime, which is important for a service dog who is constantly on alert for his owner’s needs. The same things that made Rufus a good show dog make him a good therapy dog and a good pet, Frei said. It’s very liberating to go through your day and have positive interactions with the majority of people you encounter.” “Once you get a service dog, that’s the focus. But now, the first thing people notice when Zook comes around is Rufus. Until Rufus came along, Zook got other “super awkward” comments from perfect strangers. “People will say, it’s OK, I’m a dog person,” but it’s not OK. But Zook has run over Rufus’ foot in his 500-pound wheelchair because someone in a restaurant has tried to get Rufus’ attention, causing Rufus to squeal and the restaurant to turn and look at Zook like he’s cruel. “He has these classical markings and a really loveable face, and that has made it more challenging” to keep people from interacting with Rufus, Zook said. … It’s the teachers” who want to pet him. Zook said his students at Central don’t try to pet Rufus - you don’t want to distract a working dog - though “occasionally a kid will try to whistle or see if they can mess with him. Rufus is also a public servant - he and Zook pick up trash at Allsopp Park. Rufus picked up the credit card and “handed it to him,” Laughlin said. Zook dropped his credit card at a restaurant and people started to get it, but Zook said, no thanks, I have a dog for that.
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“Whenever Rufus does something awesome, which is daily, will give me a call,” Laughlin said. Rufus can pick up Zook’s phone (he mouths it gently) and his car keys. If Zook drops a pen or a pencil, Rufus picks it up and places it in Zook’s lap. Since then, Rufus has accompanied Zook to his substitute teaching jobs at Central High School and Parkview Magnet High School. It was hard on Zook’s wife, Laughlin said, because here was this handsome, sweet red and white border collie and she couldn’t “love on him.”
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Laughlin took Rufus to Zook’s house for bonding time, so that when the time came, Rufus would stick by Zook. They put together a fundraiser, “Raise the Rufus,” and brought in enough that there were funds left over to help with another dog’s training expenses. Kendall Stafford and Chad Rogers, who work at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and knew Kelly Simon from her time there. Training a service dog is an expensive proposition, but Zook got some help with that, thanks to Drs. Joe Laughlin took Rufus to his home in Maumelle, got a wheelchair, and trained the collie, always from the wheelchair, for six months. Still, the Laughlins warned him, there could be “deal-breakers” down the road, while Rufus was in training. Then he plopped down and started licking the front wheel of my wheelchair,” Zook said.
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Zook met Rufus at the Laughlins’ place in Mayflower.