Howdy Friends -- Remember me?
Finally, a new post! I hope ya'll haven't forgotten me just because my mom has been too busy to catch up on my blog. Well, here's a quick rundown on what we've been up to along with some special Therapy Dog in Action photos!
This is mom's favorite Therapy Dog in Action photo....
Bet ya didn't know I had a little Irish in me! Well, mom says that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day and she should know because that's her birthday and she's Irish, too. We had a great St. Patrick's Day Birthday -- Mom took the day off and we did therapy dog work! Yeah! We had lunch with my grammy at the NHVH and then we joined into the parade they had and then sat and listened to nice music with my grammy and friends.
This is me and Steffi playing in what little snow we got this year. All my friends in NC got lots of snow, hope they enjoyed it. Steffi may be fast, but I'm the one with the power! We love chasing each other in the snow. Hope we get lots of snow next year!
Here are some more special photos taken in January at the NH Veteran's Home. All of these Therapy Dog in Action photos are courtesy of Jackie Bonafide, NHVH Public Information Officer. Mom wrote a story about therapy dog work for a newspaper called "Aging Issues" and these are some of the photos from my "photo shoot." You can read the article and see more photos if you'd like at this link. Click on "Aging Issues, Spring 2010" then go to page 4. (I hope it works -- if it doesn't, cut & paste it into your browser.):
http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/BEAS/LIBRARY/Newsletter/aging-issues.htm
Oh, I just love it when they rub my ears!
This man is always so happy to see me and always remembers my name.
I met a new friend that day -- Pinto, a seeing eye dog. Pinto and his mom visit the NHVH on a regular basis. I had a good time visiting with them. I think Pinto was a little leery of me at first because I'm quite a bit bigger than Pinto. But we quickly became friends!
This is my friend, Dave. He's President of the Resident's Council.
This is me and my grammy during my Christmas visit. The reindeer antlers were okay but I didn't like the little bells so close to my ears!
Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed my update! Stay tuned for more updates as we've got lots of things happening. I'm currently in an advanced dog obedience class as a "refresher" and I'm going to be in the Cause for Paws Pet Fair on April 24th in Laconia! Take care, Rocky
Things I Love
- Ice cubes! Bud & Sadie taught me to crunch ices cubes. Sure wish I'd had those on hot days back in NC!
- Meeting new people -- the Southern gentleman in me really shines here!
- Carolyn's Canine College -- Carolyn is so nice to me and gives me treats!
- My dog sister, Sadie (notice I didn't say, my dog brother, Bud)
- Fish Oil Capsules -- My bedtime snack, yummy!
- Riding in the Car -- sometimes I get to stick my head out the window!
- Going for walks with my mom on my country road
- Sleeping (Especially on my mom & dad's bed!)
- Food (Mom only lets me eat dog food, no table scraps)
Rocky's Story
My story begins in North Carolina back in December of 2007. I was rescued from the woods by a kind young lady who overheard some hunters say they were going to "shoot the shepherd" because they thought I was keeping deer away. I had already been shot at once -- and hit! I had a BB lodged in my forehead that my owner never bothered to have removed. There were a lot of things my owner never bothered do to, so that's why I ran away to begin with and got lost in the woods. Another thing my owner never bothered to do was give me heartworm medicine and, yup, you guessed it, I not only had that BB in my head, I also had heartworm.
I wish I knew who that young girl was that gave me a ride that day. She saved my life and I'd like to say thank you to her someday. After she saved me from those hunters, she took me to a vet to see if I had any identification -- I didn't, of course. So the vet contacted Bob, a volunteer with Forever Home K9 Rescue. Bob came over and brought me back to his home. It wasn't a forever home but it sure was nice to be out of the woods. My owner actually did track me down and when he found out Bob would help find a good home for me, he decided that was the best thing for me. That was just what Bob was hoping for, now he could get on with helping me and that began with getting that BB out of my head and neutering. Then came the heartworm test...positive; then the heartworm treatments, ugh! They were tough but Bob, Denese and the wonderful vets and technicians at Animal Hospital of Statesville took real good care of me and I made it through! Thanks, you guys!
Bob then started taking me to PetCo for the adopt-a-dog days. A lot of people would stop and pet me, but Bob told me he was waiting for the right people to give me a good home. My lucky day was February 16, 2008, when a man and woman came by and began talking with Bob and petting me. I thought they were very nice, but I knew they weren't from around NC because they had a different accent. But Bob seemed to like them and I trusted Bob. About three weeks later, back at PetCo I met the same people again and they seemed very happy to see me. That's when I began to realize that these people were going to be my forever home.
On March 10, 2008, in the early morning hours, Bob got my things and we headed out while it was still dark. We went to a hotel parking lot and there were those same two people again. That's when Bob told me I would be going home with them. I was sad and alittle scared to leave Bob, but I knew that's what I had to do. Leaving the parking lot, I whimpered a little as I sat in the corner of the back seat of the pick-up truck. I was trying to be brave. These people seemed nice, but I was really missing Bob and I had no idea where I was being taken.
I rode quietly for quite a while, with a scared look on my face. I looked out the window to try to see where we were going but I couldn't tell. Finally, I started to relax a little and took a nap. When I woke up, I felt better. I continued riding for miles and miles, hours and hours -- about 17 hours to be exact and pretty close to 1000 miles. We stopped off and on along the way for potty breaks and snacks. I was getting to like these new people!
Finally we arrived at a house in the country. I got out and stepped into this icy cold white stuff that was slippery to walk on! Oh no, snow! I'd seen a little of this stuff in NC but not like it was here. Then they told me, I was in New Hampshire!
This was my new forever home! It was really late, so we went right to bed. The next morning I met my new family: my German shepherd sister, Sadie, and my German shepherd brother, Buddy; and my feline brothers & sisters: Sam, Jack, Eddie, Annie and Chloe; and my grammy, who is 87-years old and blind.
My life has changed so much since I joined my forever home. I go for walks. I have a huge yard to run free in with my brother and sister. I have my own bed. I go to dog school. And I'm preparing to be a therapy dog so I can go to nursing homes and children's reading programs. Life doesn't get much better than this! Thank you Forever Home K9 Rescue for helping me find my forever home...even if it was 1000 miles away! Rocky
This is me and Steffi playing in what little snow we got this year. All my friends in NC got lots of snow, hope they enjoyed it. Steffi may be fast, but I'm the one with the power! We love chasing each other in the snow. Hope we get lots of snow next year!
Oh, I just love it when they rub my ears!
This man is always so happy to see me and always remembers my name.
I met a new friend that day -- Pinto, a seeing eye dog. Pinto and his mom visit the NHVH on a regular basis. I had a good time visiting with them. I think Pinto was a little leery of me at first because I'm quite a bit bigger than Pinto. But we quickly became friends!
This is my friend, Dave. He's President of the Resident's Council.
This is me and my grammy during my Christmas visit. The reindeer antlers were okay but I didn't like the little bells so close to my ears! 
