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“Rusty”

2 min readNov 10, 2025

Day 313 of my artwork retrospective

“Rusty” pastel on paper © Donna McVicar Kazo

Getting a little misty as I think about this sweet boy, because he was one of the last dogs my late husband, Dr. Tom Kazo, worked with as he bravely fought the cancer that eventually took him from us in May 2006. I’m sorry to say I can’t recall if Rusty was a Labradoodle or a Goldendoodle. What I do know was that Rusty and his housemate, Lucy, who will be tomorrow’s featured painting, adored their Dr. Tom.

As did their owners, the Moody family. Tom had worked with their beloved English mastiffs until both had passed over that Rainbow Bridge. Nala and Thelma Lou were featured on Day 184 of my retrospective.

Mostly I remember Tom discussing how he was developing better methods of grooming Rusty’s and Lucy’s coats. Tom was very knowledgeable in that regard and was always seeking a better methodology, in pretty much every one of his interests.

Regarding Rusty’s coat, not only was it difficult to groom, but it was a real challenge to replicate in pastel. All those curls, good grief.

Please note the tag hanging from Rusty’s collar. As my artistic license is still in force, I carefully painted it to read, “Dr. Tom ❤ Rusty.”

I could have painted it to read the other way around, too. Because that also would have been true.

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DonnaKazo
DonnaKazo

Written by DonnaKazo⁠

Mom, artist, writer, editor, author, canoe guide, naturalist