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ROCKY 11/15/03
#098

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Rocky's Foster Journey - Adopted 12/14/03 - Rainbow Bridge 2/15/05

Post Adoption

Pertinent Information
3-4 yr old Fawn Male 
61.5 lb. Shelter Surrender
Natural Ears and  Docked Tail
Neutered and UTD
Being Fostered Near Tom's River, NJ 
Adoption Donation $250 + $20 Microchipping

2/15/05 - Today, we made the very difficult decision to put Rocky down due to his illness. We would like to thank you for all your help and support during this very trying time. We know that we were able to give Rocky a loving home for the time that he was with us. Rocky had been on the sotalol, which we cut down in half, but when the seizures started, he had 3 in 1 week, and then another on Sat. We had gotten him started on Phenobarbital as well, but he was growing progressively weaker and was only at peace when he was sleeping. During his waking hours he was confused and disoriented and restless, and his eyes kept rolling back into his head.
I wanted to thank Gary and especially Anne for your advice and support. We feel that we did everything possible to give Rocky the home that he deserved, but we also recognized that his time had come to an end.
Thanks again, Julie,Ian adn Jesse

1/14/04 - Well, it's been just over a month since we brought Rocky home. He is a totally different dog than when we first got him. he has gotten VERY vocal, and barks and talks all the time. He just loves to be petted, and if you stop after a few minutes, he barks and paws you to keep on going. 
He has bonded with his "Kuman" ( Kid-Human) and the 2 of them are great pals. Our son is the first one home in the afternoon and they spend lots of time together. 
Rocky's appetite has really taken off - we have to be careful not to give him too much, so he doesn't get chubby. With this cold weather, we are not spending too much time running around outside, and this little guy just loves to cuddle up in his bed and snooze. He still has some accidents in the house, but we are working on it, and making adjustments as we go. We think that he probably was not a house pet, because he really doesn't give cues when he has to go. We follow the rule that if he was left alone, even if only for an hour, we take him right out as soon as we get back. That seems to be working, so we will stick with that plan. We are starting obedience training in about 10 days, and hope to nip some bad habits in the bud. Rocky has on occasion, counter surfed, and once he ate my son's chicken dinner when we walked out of the kitchen. We will have to be more careful with him. Just goes to show how comfortable he has gotten in his new home. 
We are really enjoying him (besides the shedding, which is pretty bad) and we'll keep sending updates!

12/20/03 - Rocky has been settling in nicely in his new home. He made himself part of our family from the minute that we picked him up during last week's snowstorm. There was no hesitation or confusion and he just was happy to come with us and see where his new family lived. 
Our 12 year old son is still getting used to Rocky - over time the two of them will learn how to play together, and already they are becoming friends, since our son is the first one home in the afternoon. 
We are still trying to figure out the best feeding schedule for Rocky because he has had a couple of accidents during the day. We will all be home on vacation for the next two weeks so I am sure that we will have plenty of time to figure out what works best. When we take him out, he is a good boy on the leash, and pretty much ignores other people or dogs, unless they show interest in him. He's been very good with everyone that he meets so far, although he shows special love for his new mom and dad and brother. 
As to Rocky's personality, he really is a mellow little guy - he just loves to rub up against you and get petted. If you stop for a second, he makes sure that he talks to you to get you to keep on loving him. 
While we don't know where he was for his first 3 1/2 years, we are pretty sure that he didn't have much play time. We are all quickly learning that he loves his squeaky toy, and he is playing tug of war with a towel, so we will go get him some fun toys to play with. We even had to teach him how to chew on a rawhide bone - he's a smart guy and he'll learn real quick. 
We feel really proud to have been able to give Rocky a home that is his new "forever" home. Adopting a dog who really needed a family to love has made us feel that we have helped BAR because it is so important to give a home to a grown up guy like Rocky, who may have continued to be neglected and unloved if BAR had not rescued him and made a match with our family. 
We will send updates so you can see how he's doing! Bye for now!

12/14/03 - Well, our Rock-a-doodles has left with his new family. When he met
his people he gave them each a small kiss which means a lot from him.  He is not very generous with his kisses. He actually has only given me kisses three or four times since he has been here. So, to immediately give them kisses was a great thing to see. I knew he liked them. He slept the majority of the time they were here. He definitely showed them how mellow he is. And when it was time to go, his boy grabbed his leash and Rocky ran over to him to get ready to go. He jumped right into the truck and left with them happily. It was great to see him go so happily. Rocky really has turned around so much. I can't wait to hear all the updates on him and see how he does in his forever home. We will miss Rocky. He turned out to be a really great Boxer most of the time. I'm sure he will continue to come around in his new home. Good luck Rocky boy, we wish you all the luck in the world.

12/8/03 - Rocky is pending adoption.

12/6/03 - YEAH!!! Rock is still gaining weight. He is now a whopping 61.5 pounds. He is only 4 pounds from his ideal weight and I think that will come with muscle tone as well as a little more weight. He is looking great though. I can't see his ribs or his backbone anymore. He's doing great. 
BTW, Rocky loves the snow. He ran and played and jumped in the snow all day today. And then enjoyed very much coming in to snuggle up with us. He is such a little love bug. He loves snuggle time. 
Keep your eyes open for more updates soon. Rocky is a good boy and is just waiting for that very special home. Will it be yours???

12/4/03 - Rocky is becoming more and more a playful Boxer boy each day. He has earned the nickname "Rock-a-doodles" from my kids. He has finally gotten to the point where when we come home from someplace, he comes bounding out of his crate. He hasn't yet shown me a true Boxer wiggle, but what he does do is kind of like a gazelle act. He stands in the middle of the room and bows and then spins in circles jumping and barking at the same time. He never touches us, just jumping inn his own space. It's quite comical to see. And he definitely is an attention hog. He wants you to say hi to him as soon as possible and he won't stop whining and/or barking until you at least acknowledge his existence. He really is turning into a true Boxer "clown". It's great to see a shy, scared, lonely shelter boy learning what life is really about. Now all he needs is a place to call his own to make it all official. We know you're out there. Please call soon.

12/1/03 - At last check, Rocky was at 59 pounds. He eats like a horse, but is just gaining slowly. the vet says he is looking great. His allergies are calming down quite a bit, and he is staring to play more and more each day.
Rocky really does not like his cage. We had to go out for a while yesterday and so we had to put him back in the cage for the first time since last Tuesday. Well, we came home to find that he had peed all over the cage. It seems like he just panics and thinks that we are leaving him. I had to go out for a little while again this morning, and when I came home, he hadn't done anything. His cage was dry. I think he just freaked out yesterday since he hadn't been in the cage for a few days. Because he's so good out of the cage at night, I think he might do better just being left out of a cage all together. I just can't do it here because of my cats. I don't want to leave him out with the cats around with no one here to stop him from chasing them.
Rocky did very well on Thanksgiving. We had a bunch of people here and Rocky proved to be a perfect gentleman. Everyone loved him. Except for my brothers dog who seemed to not be too fond of other dogs at all. He's an older dog who just prefers to not be bothered with. We did find out that when Rocky is snapped at he will try to retaliate. All I can say is thank goodness for leashes. We had them all on leashes and were able to take them away from each other before anyone got hurt. All they were able to do is yell at each other. Rocky is doing perfectly fine with our dogs, but that even took a couple of days for them to be trusted together. Rocky likes to be top dog. As long as the other dog doesn't try to start anything he's fine.
I can't believe the difference in this dog. He didn't cower away once on Thanksgiving with all the commotion. He's even getting used to the kids running around being crazy. Since that is a daily occurrence, he kind of had no choice on that one. Rocky is just becoming a nice dog to have around. But he could really use a forever home to call his own by Christmas time. He would make a great present!!

11/24/03 - Well, we did take Rocky over the weekend to have his weight checked and there was no change. The vet said it was most likely due to how much stress he has had throughout the week being moved all around and such. He said that this week should be when we will see the majority of the changes since he is beginning to settle in more. So for now, he is a 56 pound little boy. I do have to say though, he looks much better now than when he came in. The first few days here he was drinking excessively due to dehydration. Now that he is rehydrated, his belly isn't so sunken in and he is drinking normally. He actually looked like he had gained some weight since he rehydrated himself, that's how dehydrated he really was. Poor Baby!!
To unload his stress level a little, we decided to try Rocky out of the crate last night. He just gets so upset when he is in there and can't have that human companionship. So, we let him stay out and he was a doll. He slept in our bed half the night, and in my 6 year old's bed the rest of the night. And I have got to say, he loved every second of it. He was such a good boy. He didn't get into anything and no accidents. So, now the only time we need to crate him is when we go out. And that is more for our cats' safety than anything. I think he would do fine left out of a cage during the day. I think this boy would be happy if he never had to see a cage again.
We will keep you updated on this sweet boy. He is doing good and just waiting patiently for that special home to call. He would love a family of his very own for the holidays. We hope to hear from you soon. We know you're out there.

11/19/03 - Well Rocky went to his vet appointment last night and was a good boy. He was quite nervous, but he was still well behaved. Rocky is now ready to go to his forever home. He does have infections in his ears, but the vet gave us some medicated ear solution and said that they should clear up in no time. As for his weight, the vet said he needs to gain at least 10 pounds, 15 would be ideal. He weighed in at 56.4 pounds. We'll see about bringing him in for another weight check on Saturday and see if he has gained at all.
Rocky is starting to come around a little. He is still so nervous most of the time though. Even when he gets playing with my husband, he will stop, cower down, and run to me for reassurance. He is even starting to look less nervous when the kids are running around him. I think Rocky would do best in a home where there are either no kids or the kids are older. He is just so unsure of the rambunction of small children. We have also found that Rocky would like to have kitty pie for dinner. He definitely wants to get the cats. He's good about standing there watching them for a little bit, but then plays chase the kitty as soon as they make a move. He did go after the one with mouth open, so I just assume he would like to eat them. He does listen most times when you tell him no, but I think he would prefer no kitties.
As for other dogs, we are still taking it slow with that. Rocky is still so confused with everything and our dogs are a little rowdy at times. Rocky has been free with our dogs, but would rather pay no attention to them at all then play. He's not too sure how to play, or he's just to scared to.
I know from what I have seen in these few days, that as Rocky starts to feel more comfortable, he is going to be a great addition to your family. So, if you are looking for a great dog to just love non stop, he is your dag. He just wants the love and attention that only a human can give him. So, if you are looking to give a dog a chance at having a happy life, please get your applications in. We will be here waiting for your call.

11/16/03 - Just wanted to send in a quick update on Rocky. He has come to stay with us at the M & M Boxer Bunker for some extra attention. He is really scared right now and is needing someone who is going to be home the majority of the day and I am, so he came here to be fostered. He did get some special treatment at his other foster home though. He got a nice bath, his teeth brushed, and his ears cleaned. His is nice and handsome now. I do have to say, he is very skinny right now so we will be working on that. He does have a really good appetite though so I think he will gain weight in no time. We did short introductions with the resident dogs tonight, but didn't want to go too fast so we will do more tomorrow. He is a sweetie and I will keep updating as I do the rest of his testing through the coming days. I think this boy will be just fine. He's scared right now, but he's already settling down. I will send in more updates soon. So keep your eye on this guy. I don't think he's going to be around long.

11/15/03 -  Rocky arrived at his foster home at 9A.M. this morning. He is a handsome fawn male w/ a black mask and white markings on his nose and chest. Rocky also has a little bit of white on the tips of his paws. He does the typical boxer butt wiggle when he is excited and he loves pets. He seems to be settling in nicely.