“Good Dogs” Rusty (aka Rusty-Nutz, aka The Nutz) and Stitch, two of the finest dogs to ever grace a donut bed, passed away peacefully together at home on August 11, 2026, at the age of 17 1/2, surrounded by the humans who loved them most — Sarah and Donnie. 

Rusty was a Jack Russell Terrier with far more attitude than his size should’ve allowed — loud, fearless, and never one to sit still if there was trouble to get into. Small in stature, enormous in attitude, he kept his spunk right up to the end, missing teeth and all. While Donnie was off serving his country through deployments and TDYs with the Air Force, Rusty appointed himself Sarah’s personal bodyguard, a job he took very seriously and performed with zero formal qualifications. 

Stitch, meanwhile, was a lady of refined tastes and questionable sinuses, best known around the house for her Olympic-caliber snot-shooting abilities and truly world-class loogies — an unexpected talent for someone so petite and dignified in every other respect. She spent seven years living the good life with the family’s late Grandma Rose Norconk, who by all accounts loved that dog more than she loved most people, and the feeling was mutual. 

Though they came into the family around the same time and spent years living apart, Rusty and Stitch ultimately left this world exactly the way they should have — together, at home, without a fuss, and on their own terms. 

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Katie, their trusted dog-sitter since 2019, who kept these two safe, fed, and out of trouble every time Sarah and Donnie traveled. 

Rusty and Stitch are survived by Sarah and Donnie, who got 17 1/2 wonderful years with each of them and wouldn’t trade a single minute of it — loogies and china closets included. Run free, you two. You were very good dogs.