rockosrewards.com

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 18^th 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

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.

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”.

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

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

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 !

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?

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