Rocky (February 13, 2001 - November 11, 2015)
Best Friends. We Made Each Other Laugh!
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In May of 2001, I brought home an ugly duckling in the guise of a supposed pit bull. He was all legs and feet. As you might guess, I did not select him, he picked me. On my first visit to the humane society, he was the only dog to come up to me from the back of his cage. The label on the cage scared me away - pit bull.
On my second visit, he still came up to me and I figured this was a sign. The humane society brought him to a viewing room to see how he would interact with me. In the viewing room, it was like I was not there. He was faciniated with all the toys available.
Rocky was brought in by a family that could no longer keep him. That was all the information I got, but with being abandoned, he was still a very happy puppy.
I had to go through an interview with a humane society volunteer and then a home visit to make sure I had a fence that would keep a "pit bull" enlosed and away from the public.
He was 6 months old when I got him and that put February as his birth month, so I promptly assigned him the 13th of February as his birthdate since this is my brother’s birthdate.
I brought him home and he immediately settled in. After a few discussions about where to poop and where not to poop, we settled in together and became best friends. I do, however, still resent his hogging the bed and making sure his butt was in my face, but you learn to forgive certain things.
Rocky may have had a little pit bull in him, but he was the spitting image of a catahoula (Louisiana Cattle Dog). It seems there was a breeder in the Fort Lauderdale area and I suspect much of his ancestry is traced to the catahoula. Put him next to a pit bull and there is little to no resemblance. He had the best temperment of any animal I’ve ever been around in my life.
We had quite a few adventures together. I remember well the first time he saw a horse and later a male peacock. He ate in some of the best restaurants in Key West and even got to visit Atlanta with some friends of his. Our twice a day walks always brought new discoveries, new pathways, and new smells. He was a regular at Bark Park in Fort Lauderdale for much of his life.
In reality, he lived longer than I anticipated. He was a large dog and suffered in later life from two bum knees and arthritis in his hips, but up until the last three days of his life, he was walking a mile total in his walks.
He never left me alone. He kept watch while I swam in the pool, make sure he escorted me when I took out the garbage, and complained loudly when I mowed the yard with him in the house. He was a constant companion and in 14 1/2 years, I only came home twice when he was not there. Once was when he spent the night in the hospital for eating a bufo toad and the other was the day I came home from the vets from having him put to sleep.
It’s the little things I will miss about him. How his ears would perk up when I walked into a room, our daily walks, giving him treats, looking for him to come through the door behind me when I take the garbage out.
Everyone should be so lucky to have a Rocky. I consider myself enriched beyond the riches of Croseus.
My Life in Plants - a travelog of plants species with photos and descriptions.
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Rocky (February 13, 2001 - November 11, 2015)
Best Friends. We Made Each Other Laugh!