Welcome to Rocky's Blog

As you can see, I am a dog. Since I don't know any dogs that type, I'd like to publicly thank my mom for typing my blog as I dictate to her. And how else would you be able to keep up with all my adventures?? Isn't she the greatest? I think so! Woof!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Happy Together

Howdy Friends!

Life is good. Steffi and I are becoming fast friends. Just look at us here, snoozing on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Me and Steffi napping in the gazebo.

It hasn't been all play and no work, though. I've been visiting the NH Veteran's Home on Sunday afternoons. The past two weeks I made some new friends in the dementia units. Those people just love me and I love them.

Today I went to my dad's office in Massachusetts. Well, I didn't actually go inside but I did go for the ride and that's really all I care about. I love to ride -- nothing better than feeling that wind against your face. Look here, can ya tell how happy I am?

Mom and Dad don't let me ride like this very much, just when we're going slow on our dirt road. Mom says I'll get a bug in my eye. Heck, I say it's worth the risk.

They say it's June, but ya know, I'm a North Carolina dog and if this weather is June, then I'll eat my collar. Where are the hot, sunny days that I love? My idea of summer is soaking up some rays in the driveway or on the deck.
Speaking of the deck, I've found some new friends this week right here at home. Dad's having the house and everything painted and I love hanging out with those painters. Mom says it's because I'm a man's dog. It's true, something about a man and a pick-up truck that I just love! Hey, see that pool cover there? Well I'm not used to some of these things and when Dad let me out of the gazebo, I thought I could walk right across that green thing -- a shortcut, ya know. What a surprise that was when all of sudden my front legs sunk about a foot -- where the heck did all that water come from? Dad was cool, though -- didn't get upset or scare me and I just stepped back onto firmer ground. Too bad Mom wasn't there with the camera. Well, ya'all have a great week now and send some warm weather this way! Rocky

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Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Happy News -- Meet Steffi!


Howdy Friends!
Check out our newest member of the family!
This is my new sister, Steffi. She'll be 8 months old on June 6th. Isn't she pretty?


She sure looks pretty to me! As you can see, she's almost as big as me, too! We've been having a lot of fun getting to know each other.


We've been playing in the yard. Sometimes we play rough and Mom hollars at me because Steffi gets scared. It's only dog play though. I would never hurt her, remember I'm a therapy dog.

Steffi hails from Wisconsin and comes to us via Gretchanya Kennels (thanks, Becky!) in Webster, NH (http://www.gretchanya.com/). She started out at Kenlyn Kennels in Wisconsin (http://www.kenlynkennels.com/) and she was going to be a show dog but she's missing a tooth, so Mom says she's now going to be a "show-off" instead. She has lots of champions in her family tree. In fact, her grandaddy, Dallas, is quite well-known in the German Shepherd world. Here's a photo of him at Westminster. He was on the Purina ProPlan advertisements and is the top producer in German Shepherd breed history! Just Google his name and see all the hits you get!
I've been teaching Steffi how to relax in the house. (That's been a challenge!)
I've also been helping Dad teach her how to heel. She's a very fast learner!
Here's Mom taking advantage of one of the few times she be able to hold her "baby." Good thing Mom's been going to strength training! That's 50 lbs of puppy!

Dad wasn't about to let Mom out do us! 95 lbs. of dog! Yes, Dr. Keenan, there will be less of me the next time you see me.

Steffi loves the cats almost more than Sadie did! I've tried to warn her not to get too close but I guess she's just going to have to learn the hard way.

So, as you can see...

Mom's got a smile on her face again.

Dad's happy 'cuz Mom's not crying all the time.
And I'm lonely no more!
Hope you enjoyed meeting my new sister! Oh, wait, hold on, Steffi wants to say hi!

Stay tuned for more fun times ahead.
Rocky and Steffi
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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