ROCKET 6

Pertinent Information
65 lb. Fawn Male 90% Boxer Mixed with a little?
1 1/2 to 2 yrs. Old
Natural Ears and Natural Tail
Neutered and UTD
Shelter Surrender
Good with other dogs
Being Fostered near New London, CT

8/4/03 - Rocket has certainly settled in. We just came from obedience class and he is doing very well there. He gets along well with all the dogs in the class. (He has a crush on a 1 year old Bloodhound named Belle.) Rocket and our cat, Marilyn, are coming to an understanding and can be in the same room at the same time without Marilyn running for cover. Rocket seems to be very therapeutic for our older dog, Gizmo, he is much less anxious with Rocket around. Rocket went to the vet for his Lyme booster shot on Friday. He has gained 5 lbs., so he is an even 70. The doctor said that is a good weight for Rocket and to keep him there. He said Rocket is a very good dog, and of course he's right.

6/19/03 - Rocket is pending adoption to his foster family. Whoopie! But they are still going to continue fostering for BAR! Thanks Leslie and Mark.

6/17/03 - Hi, its Rocket here. Its really nice here. I have trained these people really well. I am busy chewing a pig's ear after my walk. I begged some apple struddle at dinner and had some bacon, but I'm really a pie dog. I met my foster grandmother the other day and , well, she loved me. I mean how could she help herself. I'm so cute. I met some collage girls today. I like them, and they think I'm cute, of course. I hope to meet my foster grandkids this week, I don't know about the under 5 crowd yet, we'll just have to take them a bit at a time :-) My foster parents have been leaving me loose in the house when they are gone and I like that so I don't damage anything and I get the run of the place. I am trying to get these people to take some more pictures of me for the site, I mean, I am so cute and take a good picture!!!! Gotta run there's biscuits waiting!!!! Rocket

6/14/03 - Hi, I'm Rocket. They finally let at the computer. (My foster mom and dad didn't realize how smart I was at first.) Well, I have been here just about a week now and life is pretty good. Yes, I was a little nervous at first, but can you blame me? I just wasn't sure what was going on or where I would end up. Now I just love my foster mom and dad, Leslie and Mark. That funny old dog Gizmo is pretty good company too. I must say though, that cat, Marilyn, is really snobby and won't give me the time of day. Oh well, to each his own. I have a confession to make, I have kept this secret for a while, but, well, I am really a lap dog in a boxer body. Yep, I sat on my foster mom's lap for quite a while yesterday, it was great. I don't get on any of their furniture though, I have respect for other people's things. There are plenty of beds for me on the floor around here. They are comfy and just fine for me. I have developed an interest in cooking since I have arrived. I am very observant when Leslie is cooking, I am pretty good at staying out of the way, but my new title is "assistant chef Rocket." Cool huh? Gotta go now, I have this piece of rawhide I have been working on all morning, I think I will finish it up. Bye.

6/11/03 - Rocket has settled in and is proving to be a wonderful dog. He went to the vet, was neutered, vaccinated, and given a clean bill of health. He listens very well and as Mark says "has no bad habits." The worst thing he does is try to get Gizmo, (the 15 year old beagle mix) to play with him. Gizmo just wont have it, but Rocket takes the rejection pretty well. Rocket responds very well to firm commands, he heels well on the leash, with a little work he would probably heel well off lead. We haven't heard him bark really yet, so although he is energetic he is not loud at all. Rocket didn't eat much when he first arrived, but we have discovered he is very fond of many types of food. He eats his dog food, biscuits, and apparently has a sweet tooth because he turned down bacon for lemon meringue pie! He just had a little sniggle. He is very gentle when licking the pie off my fingers. Rocket also has gotten comfortable with his crate. He went in his crate at bedtime and didn't even make a sound, right to sleep. Being with people is still by far his favorite pastime and he has lots of kisses to share.

6/10/03 - I had the pleasure of picking up Mr. Rocket yesterday morning and transporting him to the vet for his neutering and his vaccinations. Actually I had met him as he was transported to my house with my new foster, Brutus, on Sat. and his foster Mom and Dad, Leslie and Mark, picked him up from us. Before they arrived he made immediate friends with my 4 yr. old grandson who tentatively named him "Clifford" and has been asking about him everyday since he met him. Noah does not immediately take to all of our fosters, but there is something about Rocket/Clifford that made him very comfortable - I guess it was how gentle he was and didn't jump up on him. Leslie and Mark will be testing him with their grandchildren next weekend and will report on his interaction with them.
But, back to the vet appointment. Dr. Love, our vet at Bolton Animal Hospital, was very impressed with Rocket. She said that he was "almost" pure boxer. Just a little bit of something else in his family history that gives him a little longer nose. But if his tail had been docked at birth, he could easily pass for a purebred. Some of the Boxers that I have seen recently with "papers" have longer noses than the more classic looking Boxers of the past. I also talked to the gals who care for the dogs while they are at the vets and they all thought that Rocket was a great dog. I put a lot of stock in the assessments of these people who are around all kinds of dogs everyday. So Rocket was a very good guest at the vets and curled up on the back seat of the car and was as good as gold on the ride home. He was very glad to see his foster Mom though when she came to pick him up and was definitely looking forward to going home for some TLC.

6/8/03 - "Rocket" a fawn energetic male was left outside of a shelter so we don't know anything about him. So far we have learned that he loves being with people above everything else. At first he seemed only to know the commands "no" and "come" but now he is responding to "sit" and "heel." Apparently he has had some training somewhere along the line. He also is getting along well with Gizmo, our 15 year old beagle mix. Tomorrow he will go to the vet to be checked out and neutered. Hopefully all will go well and he will prove to be as healthy as he appears.