A Leap of Faith

Rocko's new license

Sometimes you have to make a leap of faith.  Do what you believe in, not what makes sense.

Rocko made another trip to the vet this week for his annual rabies shot and to get his license renewed.  At 16 ½ years old, I decided to get a three-year vaccination and license.

Might sound crazy, but there were two reasons for doing this.  First, I am thinking about the future.  Next June it might not be as easy to take Rocko to the vet.  We make enough trips when he’s not feeling well, it will be nice to know we don’t have to go “just because”.  Second, I am the eternal optimist.  Three more years, five more years, I want to think he’s going to be with me forever.

Even though I say how old he is every day, there’s something different about seeing it printed on a piece of paper.  When you see his license renewal notice and the year 1994 under the date of birth, you can’t help but think wow, that’s a long time ago.  I’m not sure where the June 18th birth date came from, that would make him even older.  I guess it’s been years since I looked at the details.

Rocko's license renewal notice - and he DOES have a microchip

I do believe Rocko has a touch of doggy alzheimers.  The only reason he ever gets in the car is to go to the vet.  Although he doesn’t hate it, it isn’t his favorite place.  He was all excited to get into the car, he even stood up and watched out the window – until we got to the vet.  Then he had some choice words for me.  But it was a very quick in and out, then he was home and happy.

Happy boy!

and we had to share Phoebe's latest picture

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Comfort Food

Being old is hard.  There are ups and downs, good days and not-so-good days. 

It’s easy to tell when Rocko isn’t feeling well.  He has a bleary look in his eyes and his nose is warm.  When he is sick he sleeps under the bed so if that’s where he is in the morning I know something is going on.

I wish it was as easy to tell what is wrong.  Rocko takes an assortment of medicine and vitamins - willingly – but sometimes I find it on the floor later where he accidentally spit it out.  He has a sensitive stomach every now and then with nothing in particular as a cause. This is also one of our conversational commands that Rocko understands – I give him a tiny bite of something on my dinner plate when I’m done, but if it’s spicy I will tell him “This’ll give you tummy ache”.  He knows what that means and immediately goes back to his blanket.

Over time we’ve developed levels of not feeling well.  Level one requires a trip to the vet.  Level two is a limp or throwing up.  Level three is just feeling bad.

Special Order

This week we had a level three.  For two days Rocko just wasn’t himself.  He was mopey and his nose was warm.  Although I usually save this for the higher level illnesses because I know Rocko is absolutely 100% capable of faking illness to get what he wants, I went ahead and got him the ultimate comfort food – a plain double hamburger.

I don’t know if it is because he finally gets a full stomach, if the bread soaks up whatever is causing a problem or if it just makes him happy, but an hour later he was smiling and back on track to feeling better.

Yum, that was good !

Before you think OMG, she’s feeding him fast food burgers, let me say that you reach a point with a dog Rocko’s age where everything has a benefit analysis.  It’s a delicate balance to keep him as healthy as possible.  Any extended period of illness or pain could be the beginning of the end, it’s just hard to bounce back when you’re that old.  Fast food every two or three months is not the best diet, but the benefit of feeling better far outweighs any nutritional downside.

For now we’re back to happy and healthy.  A salesman came to the door tonight selling alarm systems.  I cracked the door and said no thanks, I have my own alarm.  Rocko was right behind me telling him to move on.  That’s my boy.
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In the Beginning – part II

By now you’ve read Rocko’s Story so you know how we met.

A picture of the side of the road where Rocko was found

When he laid his head against my leg I reached down and patted him, tears in my eyes.  He followed me to the car and jumped in when I opened the door.  We took him back to the house, fed him and made him comfortable with blankets on the porch. 

Rocko was content but a storm was moving in.  It took some coaxing to get him to come in the house, he was terrified of everything.  There were five people and four other dogs so it’s easy to see how it overwhelmed him.  One of the dogs was a visitor and outnumbered by the three permanent residents.  Rocko’s protective side surfaced for the first time when she was being chased by the pack – he stepped between them and kept them separated.

As he settled down we discussed his new name.  I suggested Red Dog, but as you know we already had Big Kitty and Baby Kitty.  After much chiding from the family, we decided on Rocko. 

The next day Rocko had his first bath.  He was covered with ticks and that is something I don’t ever want to deal with again – yuck.  We were feeding him slowly, he was so painfully thin it seemed like you could just put your fingers around his spine but he didn’t seem to have any stomach issues.  It worked to his advantage that he did not go hunting in the woods for small game and their associated parasites.  Laying on the side of the road by his brother’s body, sad as it was, probably went a long way toward his survival.

Then it was time to make the twelve hour drive home – that’s where we’ll pick up the next installment of In the Beginning.  Sign up for our email list or watch our facebook page for the next post.

 

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In the Beginning – part I

Rocko remembers

I can still remember the day we found Rocko.  We had gone to visit Me-Ma in southern Mississippi.  As fate would have it, we flew down and were going to drive back in a mini-van they no longer wanted.

As we got into the car at the airport, MeMa said “I’m going to tell you about this now so I don’t have to listen to you say how you’re going to do something about it.  I’ve been trying to catch this dog on the side of the road for two weeks.  First there were two of them, one is already dead.  I’ve gone up every day to feed him but he just won’t come to me.”

MeMa had three small dogs and my sister was visiting with her dog.  There was a house full.  Later that evening we started out in two separate vehicles to make a trip to the coast.  My sister and I cooked up a plan to stop and feed the dog on the side of the road.

You can read about the beginning from Rocko’s point of view at Rocko’s Story.  In the coming weeks we’ll continue the In the Beginning series, remembering what it was like when Rocko joined our family.

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Hate a Rainy Day

With all the rain we’ve had lately, it’s time to share Rocko’s opinion of rain.  A lot of people teach their dogs commands like sit and stay, with Rocko it is more of a conversation.  When it’s cloudy and raining there’s only one thing to say – hate a rainy day.

Rocko can’t hear the thunder any more but he when he sees lightning he knows it is going to storm. 

Rocko's safe spot

He has a safe spot downstairs in the corner of the bedroom.  Don’t you just love the old torn up blanket?  He does.  I tried to replace it once and was met with quite a bit of resistance – that’s the blanket that goes in his safe spot and it will stay there forever.

The TV stays on for the day if I have to go to work and it is raining.  Rocko prefers the home improvement channels.  He does recognize when they interrupt programming for weather alerts and he wants to go downstairs so we don’t leave network channels on during the day.

Unfortunately the stairs to get down to the safe spot are very steep, that’s what you get with an old house.  It really isn’t safe for him to go down by himself any more so we had to put up a gate.

Purchased at a neighbor’s yard sale a few years ago, it took some modification to make it fit, but I had the vision the minute I saw it.  When it came time to start using it, my dad helped me trim down the sides to fit the narrow doorway.  The other thing to consider is the cats – they need access to the whole house.  We removed one post to make an opening big enough for them to get through.  This gate is great because it has hinges and opens like a garden gate.  I can leave it up all the time and open it when I need to go down , it is a lot more convenient than pulling the gate out and putting it back twenty times a day.  **Note that the modifications we’ve made to the baby gate make it extremely unsafe for children so don’t try this if you have little ones around **

our gate - not safe for children!

The part we’ll never get a picture of is what happens when Rocko has to go out to go potty in the rain.  I have a giant umbrella and yes, I go outside to hold it over him so he doesn’t get wet.  Sounds like a good plan except when we get out in the yard I end up bending over, following him around the yard holding the umbrella over him, all the while getting soaking wet myself.  But that’s what you do for someone you love.

When it’s raining, we have lots of hugs.  I acknowledge his feelings by telling him “I know bubby, hate a rainy day”.

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Remembering Old Friends

I’ve been looking through photographs for this blog and ran across some pictures of old friends – this week’s post is about the two cats who were already part of our family when Rocko came along.

Big Kitty was found as a kitten behind a shopping center a week before Christmas.  In retrospect we realized that he was probably discarded because he played with someone’s decorations – over the years he maintained a noticably wide berth around the tree.  At the time, we thought he was old enough to find his way back home (if he had one) so we decided not to name him until we were sure he was going to stay.  We called him Kitty until the next one came along seven years later, then he became Big Kitty and the new one was called Baby Kitty.  Baby Kitty came to us from someone who took in a pregnant momma cat.

Everyone had real names, made up on the spot when we were walking into the vet’s office.  Big Kitty was Yeller, Baby Kitty was Snowy Junior the First – both names picked by their people-brother.  As a  side note, I originally wanted to name Rocko Red Dog but by then everyone had had enough of our naming system – my sister said it was a wonder I didn’t name my child Hey Kid.

Pets form their own bonds.  Big Kitty never left his people-brother’s side, but I shared Baby Kitty with Rocko.  She was standoffish to me, but would climb into bed after I was asleep and snuggle up.  She spent most of her time with Rocko.

In the end, Rocko knew she was sick.  We said our goodbyes and made a difficult trip to the vet.  When I came home, I started putting her bowls away.  With that sense that animals have, Rocko knew she was gone forever.  He sat by her food and howled in a way I haven’t heard since that day, it still gives me chills to think about it.  Love crosses all boundaries and Rocko knew what it was like to lose someone he loved.

Many of us have known the joy of having a best friend with fur and paws and the sadness of losing them.  We can take comfort in the knowledge that our lives and theirs were forever changed for the better when they came into our homes and hearts.

Finding these pictures reminded me of how much.

Big Kitty (1986-2004) & Baby Kitty (1993-2002)

Big Kitty taking a nap with her people-brother

and the best picture of all

NINJA KITTIES !

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Going for a Ride

Rocko has had many travels and adventures, but the only trip he takes in the car now is to the vet’s office.  When he was a couple years younger we walked the 1/4 mile but in dog years the distance now seems like 7/4 mile and it is just too much for him.

Today we had to go in to get his nails clipped.  Rocko hates for anything to touch his feet (more on that in another post) so I won’t even try to do them myself.

Life with a senior dog is not as simple as it used to be.  After trying many different ideas to help Rocko get into the car – he does not like ramps – we discovered the ideal step up using a fold-up chair left over from his people-brother’s childhood.  The foam is solid enough that it doesn’t give too much when he jumps up but it is flexible enough to get right up under the frame of the car.

Rocko was in a rare mood today and actually let me take some pictures.  You can see the happy boy in his smile.

He enjoyed the ride much more than the visit to the vet !

The foam chair makes a great step to get into the car

Rocko is happy to be going out for a ride . . .

and happy to get home

It's an easy step down

Back on solid ground !

Rocko is taking a few minutes to walk through the garden before going in to rest up after his big adventure

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The day Rocko met a horse

As our home town is consumed with thoughts of the greatest two minutes in sports, horse racing brings to mind the story of the day Rocko met a horse.

For those of you who haven’t met Rocko, he is mean.  Might as well get that out up front.  I’ve seen this syndrome on television -when an animal is badly abused and finds its forever home, the natural instinct is to protect that home.  Rocko fits that profile to an extreme.  Three people are able to walk into our home, the rest must be dissuaded from their evil intentions by loud barks and lots of teeth.  Its not a show, he is absolutely serious that no one will enter.  (note:  If you haven’t read Rocko’s Story, go back to our home page and click on the button)

When we lived in the suburbs, Rocko liked to sit on the front porch and watch the world go by.  To keep him safe he was on a chain.  When someone would enter the yard he would stand and bark, alerting us to the presence of both friends and potential serial killers.

All was well until the day someone decided to ride a horse down the street.  This was something he had never encountered before and it was obvious that whatever this thing was it meant danger to his family. His chain snapped as he ran to the edge of the street barking, determined to keep that horrible monster as far away as possible. 

He didn’t cross his property line and the horse didn’t react so no real harm was done - except Rocko lost his porch privileges.  We invested in a full view storm door so he could sit and watch through the glass, still his favorite spot even in a new locale.

If you catch a glimpse of the horses running the first Saturday in May, think about a dog so loyal and loving that he would stand his ground against an animal ten times his size.

That’s my boy and one of the many reasons I love him.

With his family safe for the night, it's time for Rocko to snuggle down in his bed.

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No crying over chewed shoes

Rocko’s life isn’t just about today and being an old boy.  Our lives together are full of memories.

For the first year of his life with us (until he turned two), Rocko chewed everything.  Countless remotes, houseplants, a section of carpet, the list goes on.  One night as I was laying in bed suddenly the bed started shaking.  I looked over the end and there was Rocko, bored, laying on his back chewing the end of the bed.  The couch met the same fate, along with the rung of an antique rocking chair. 

That might sound like a lot of destruction, but nothing tops the day he ate my shoes.  ALL my shoes.

I accidentally left the closet door open when I left for work one day.  The carnage was apparent the minute I opened the door that afternoon.  Shoes were everywhere in various stages of annihilation.  I had dozens of pairs of shoes and several pairs of favorite boots I had collected over the years.  Gone.  Every last one of them except for the shoes I had on my feet.

Since there’s no crying over chewed shoes, I changed out of my work clothes and began the process of disposing of the remains.  After a few minutes I noticed Rocko was suspiciously absent.  Hanging his head in shame?  Hiding in a corner?  No, not Rocko.

He was in the bedroom chewing up the only pair of shoes I had left.

Fast forward to me standing in the entrance to Walmart explaining why I had to come in barefoot.  I had no shoes.  Really, not one single pair left.  How could I get more shoes if they didn’t let me come in barefoot?  It took some convincing, but who could make up a story like that?

Eventually we loaded the house with rawhide chew toys.  Our living room was dubbed the “Rawhide Wasteland”.  Rocko learned to redirect his energy to rawhide instead of Mommy’s things.

But we still have fond memories of the day Rocko ate all my shoes.

We still have the rocking chair, every time I look at it I think of Rocko as a puppy.

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Rocko’s bunnies

What can I say, Rocko has a thing for small animals.

Even though we live in the city, there is an abundance of wildlife from the nearby park -there are always bunnies around, which makes Rocko very happy.  When he spots one he is off down the sidewalk with his tail wagging.  It is a rare evening that he goes out and there is not at least one, if not three or four, rabbits in the back yard.

City rabbits know no fear !

Last summer we reseeded part of the yard and let it grow a little long to take hold.  Bad idea, since this made the perfect place for a bunny nest.  Luckily the first pass with the lawnmower did no harm, but then it was necessary to build a small hutch to place over the nest to keep the babies safe. 

Mama Bunny had no problem with taking care of the babies with Rocko hovering around.  She was comfortable enough to hop right by as he lay next to the nest.  Finally one day as we were getting ready for our walk, we came upon the new babies out of the nest and ready to leave home.  Rocko watched as I ran for the camera, a few quick pictures and they were gone.

But they’ll be back, this is an annual event !

One baby bunny and . . .

another baby bunny . . .

as they go off into the world

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Making life easier on Rocko

Steps, steps, everywhere.  Rocko’s world is full of steps.  Two sets of steps to go down to the street, steps to bed and steps when he gets up in the morning.  The times he has to use those steps are limited, but getting out to the back yard was important.  Even at over 16 years old, Rocko makes his own way around and likes to spend time in the back yard (securely fenced, of course).

Our project last summer was to build new back steps for Rocko.  The old ones just made him work too hard to get up and down.  With the new steps, each tread is 22″ deep so he can get his whole body from step to step.  The carpet is important so we don’t have any slips or accidents.

Fortunately, Rocko has not learned that he can go slowly from step to step to get up.  He still starts at the bottom and goes in a full run up to the top.  Fortunately?  Definitely.  This means that he is still able to run up the steps!  And when the day comes that he decides he needs to take it slower, the steps are ready.

You can tell by the big smile that Rocko is happy with his new steps !

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Rocko has a new baby !

Repost from February 14, 2011

Yes, Rocko has his own pets.  Stories about the guinea pig and baby rabbits will come later, but our big news is that we’ve added a new baby. 

Already sharing Rocko’s home are Plato and Socrates, nine year old brother and sister kitties.  Phoebe has found her new home.  After a rough start that included being abandoned in an empty house and a home where she was loved by everyone but the dog, she is here to stay.    Plato is still wavering, the two of them chase each other through the house. Socrates never cares about anything. I can gauge the current balance of power by the order that they suddenly run into the room, stop short and give me that “who me?” look.

 The best part about this is Rocko and Phoebe. While I really wanted to find him a companion, I struggled  with the idea of introducing someone new at his age.  No worries, they were immediate friends.  Big sloppy dog kisses and plenty of snuggles.  I think it really helps that she came with a collar that had a bell on it – she doesn’t startle him and he had time to get used to her. Actually, that bell has been so helpful with her hiding in the first couple days, I would recommend it for everyone.

Meet Phoebe

Hey, who are you?

How about we just stare at each other and act like we don't care?

Another story for another post, Rocko HATES the camera.  I’m pretty sure he has convinced Phoebe to feel the same.

Quick, she has the camera! You go that way and I'll go this way.

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Something new is on the way !

Rocko and Phoebe know there’s something fun coming - we’re getting Rocko’s Blog set up now.  Sign up for automatic updates on the Rocko’s World page and get an email when we post a new story about Rocko’s life !

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