Residents of a Chicago suburb gathered to give a send-off to a beloved local stray dog now headed for a Utah shelter.

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Oak Brook residents gathered Friday at the Follett Higher Education Group parking lot to say goodbye to Rusty, a longtime stray in the village picked up by the Hinsdale Humane Society four months ago, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

Humane Society officials said Rusty often refused to eat and frequently attempted to escape. They said he seemed depressed living indoors at the shelter.

"It's not that he's not adoptable," said Lori Halligan, executive director of the Hinsdale Humane Society. "He really is a very sweet dog. He has absolutely no aggression."

Halligan said Rusty's application was accepted by the Best Friends Animal Society, a no-kill Utah shelter where the canine will be free to roam in a fenced-in area with other dogs.