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Please donate
to help Professor Rocko
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01/29/11: This lucky man
is home ...
ADOPTED! 01/18/11: Pending
Adoption. Look at new
pictures of this lucky
man!!! An update
from his adopting family
...
“My
husband and I picked
up Rocko
New York
on Thursday.
He was definitely a
bit nervous and
confused but did his
best not to show us
his emotions. He was
gracious when I laid
in the back of our
Explorer with him
petting his head,
hugging him and
talking to him the
whole three hour
trip home. His dark,
soulful eyes show
that he has been through
a
lot, but he is still
willing to meet us
humans with hope and
good nature.
When home, we didn't
bring Rocko into the
house. Instead, we
brought our
Boxer (Milo-deaf, 11
years old) outside
and started both of them
on a
leash walk for about
20 minutes. Most of
the family came
along and
while there was much
curiosity about the
other dog on the
walk, neither Boxer
exhibited any
aggression or
dominance. Following
the
walk,
we let them both off
their leashes
(supervised) in our
fenced backyard.
At that point, they
felt more
comfortable "nosing
around" each other.
They ran in circles
and figure 8s and
"boxed" a
little bit
but no nasty
growling or
fighting. After
about ten minutes,
they both ran to the
door and waited to
be let inside (they
are both 11 years
old after all and
that's probably
about as much action
as either has seen
recently!).
Rocko
definitely seems to
have bonded with me
and my youngest
daughter the most.
When either of us
moves, he follows
right behind. This
is only an issue
when Milo (who is a
true Mama's boy)
wants to jockey for
affection. I am
trying hard to make
sure they both know
that mama loves them
both =) Rocko is
used to home-cooked
dog food. We tried
boiled chicken
and rice
for the first few
days and he would
only eat a bit of it
if I hand-fed him
(that's a problem
but speaks volumes
about how gentle the
giant really is!).
Ultimately, we will
slowly transition
his diet from the
whole foods to a
lamb and
rice dog food
that works well with
most Boxer's
sensitive stomachs.
Rocko and Milo
aren't showing
aggression at
feeding time
so far; we will keep
you posted on that.
At night, Milo
has always slept in
bed with us. We
bought a new bed for
Rocko that we were
going to place on
the floor bedside
us, but Rocko will
NOT use the
stairs…AT ALL. In
fact, he would not
even jump down from
the car. We had to
carry him out. So,
we moved his bed
downstairs and he
seems to like it in
its new place. One
of us has slept
downstairs with
Rocko every night
which suits him well
(and my kids think
it's great to be
able to watch TV as
they nod off!). Each
night, Rocko has
spent some time off
of his bed and on
our big
sectional sofa
with the kids. They
all seem to love it!
Thankfully, we
have 11 whole days
when one or more of
us will be home to
oversee the
transition for Rocko.
Our plan is to
gradually start
leaving the house
for short periods of
time (take Milo on a
solo walk or walk
the kids to the bus
stop) and assess how
Rocko does on his
own, free-ranging.
We don't want to
have to crate a
senior dog, so we
are ever-hopeful
that he will do just
fine on his own.
Please keep your
fingers crossed!
Thank
you!”
05/16/10:
Professor Rocko Can
Teach Us All A Thing Or
Two
Professor Rocko has not
had much luck with the
previous caretakers in
his life. His most
recent family (they had
him for two years) was
moving out of state and
could not bring “The
Professor” along.
Their new residence
would not allow dogs
over 35 lbs. so they
told their children that
Rocko was going to “a
friends home” till they
got settled. Poor
kids. Poor Rocko.
The people said they
tried to find Rocko a
new home for a month
without success.
When they called us they
said they were moving in
3 days and they would
have to drop him off at
their local pound if we
could not help them; a
definite death sentence
for an older dog.
We had no idea where
we were going to put him
but we could not stand
the thought of leaving
this wonderful senior
boy in this situation;
so we picked him up.
We are very grateful to
the people who agreed to
foster him at a moments
notice.
When we picked up
Rocko he was covered
with fleas and came with
no medical history.
We immediately took him
to a vet where they gave
him a full examination,
Rabies vaccine,
heartworm/lyme test, and
medication to kill the
fleas. The poor
boy. We were told
by his previous owners
that he had two large
lumps on his hind legs
but when we got him we
discovered that he also
had lumps on his head,
multiple spots on his
legs, and other various
places on his body.
We will have the vet
take a closer look at
him in the near future.
We suspect that the
doctor will want to
aspirate some of the
lumps but we want him to
settle in a bit first.
His foster home tells
us Professor Rocko is
wonderful……“He is
such a DOLL. He
has never had an
accident, and he gets
along with everything
and everyone.”
Nothing we don’t already
know because SENIORS ARE
THE BEST!!!
Sweet wonderful Rocko
has been handed some
tough breaks in life,
yet he remains positive
and continues to make
the best of things…..a
good life lesson for us
all.
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Can you donate to help
Professor Rocko?
You can send a check directly
to: Northeastern Boxer Rescue
P.O. Box 95 Sunderland MA 01375. or use PayPal
makes it easy and secure to send
payments online via credit card.
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(click pictures to enlarge)
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