Dusty was put to sleep on Fenruary 28, 2026, after a short illness. He had been slowing down a bit about a week or so before that day - he'd walk for a bit, then stop, and then move on again. But he seemed to be otherwise ok, eating and drinking as normal. Then Maryrita had to go into the hospital, and Dorothy came to house- and dog-sit. She noticed that morning that he had thrown up after drinking water; she took him to the vet whoe ran some tests and said that he had advanced kidney disease and they and his other organs were failing. The hospital was kind enough to let Dorothy bring him up to the room, and Maryrita got to spend a couple of hours with him before he was taken back to the vet. Maryrita was also able to be present via online video when he was put to sleep.
Dustry was born on January 30, 2010. We got him in April, 2011, shortly after Maryrita started work at F5 when one of her colleagues was looking to rehome him. Apparently, his wife didn't really want a dog; the kids said "we'll take care of him!" but being kids, mom got stuck with the work. The older saughter wanted to name him "Hades" since she'd been studying mythology - but a dog less like Hades, we've never met! We named him "Dusty" since his tail seemed to want to dust everything he got near. Dusty (DNA results) is a Shorkie (Shih-Tzu / Yorkshire Terrier); mostly Shih-Tzu with a little Yorkie and a tiny bit of Pekingese. .
Dusty got along with everyone - dog, human, or cat! He was sweet and very laid back, and loved nothing more than laying next to you and cuddling.
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Copyright Maryrita and Curtis Steinhour, 2026.