Gus June 29, 2009 to April 3, 2024 Clint brought Gus home to us August 10th, 2009 from a backyard breeding. He was our first real pet, inspired by the feral cat, Bella. Along came Jett in 2010 then Emma in 2013 and Gus became the leader of the pack. They were the golden pups, but Gus somehow commanded everyones respect, even the humans. He held down the fort when Jett and Emma went to boarding school. Gus went to snake training school and became an expert at identifying snakes with a very specific bark. We never paid for another dog to be snake trained because he taught them all. While Jett and Emma were at boarding school Gus went with Clint to Sonoita to teach all the other dogs how to behave as a bird dog. He would “creep” when birds were found. I think the hunters held this against him, but they still respected his nose! In addition to Gus’s snake bark he had a different bark for the javelina, the pigeons, and the coyotes. There were many nights when he patrolled our wall, protecting his people from the nighttime creatures. He would eventually pull his blanket out of his barrel to sleep on the porch in case something breeched his domain. Gus was the best running/walking partner I’ve ever had. He knew the command “move over” when a car was coming and I needed him to move left (we always faced the traffic). He knew the route we took by heart and didn’t like to stray too far from our normal routine. He pulled me up hills. He alerted me to deer or bobcats. He protected me from strangers In 2017 Jett and Emma produced a litter of 6 puppies. Gus became known as Uncle Gus. He was back to leading the pack by showing them the ropes. He taught them how to wrestle, how to drink water from the bucket and how to hunt lizards. The pool was his refuge from the puppies since no one loved to swim as much as Gus. He waited the whole year for summer swim time. And every day he waited for someone to come outside so that he could swim. Gus would watch us in the house, and if someone had a bathing suit on he would start whining and yipping in anticipation of a swimming partner. Once we would come outside he would bolt for the pool. He made figure eights, barking and splashing. If a new person came over he would run to the pool and jump in to show off his skills. When we had pool parties Gus was always in the pool, swimming until he was water logged. We literally had to force him to get out of the pool on many occasions. In 2021 Emma had Mick. By this time Gus was over being Uncle Gus and he passed that responsibility to Jett. He became Grandpa Gus and really had no interest in the antics of another puppy. Gus lived out the last few years in his beloved backyard near his beloved pool. He followed the sun as the yard became shaded and ultimately ended up on a chaise lounge by the pool. Our first pet that became family quickly. He was autistic, and quirky but loyal and protective. He wagged his tail to the end knowing that his humans were there for him. He will be so very missed by his people and his pack!