Rocky
August 26, 2010
Rocky received his name from his maternal mother who decided she didn't want him and in turn bit him on his skull at 6 hours old. He received an open wound over his little closed eye that when opened would become his left blind eye. The Vet said that if Rocky made it through the first 24 hrs., we#8217;d be lucky. Well Rocky "true to his name" was a fighter, he made it through those first 24 hours of life. Rocky was special from the start. But what everyone didn't know when Rocky came into this world to bless us all, was just how special he really was...
Rocky's story...
Rocky was born August 18th, 2009 in Campo, CA to a father name Blue and a mother named Gucci - both Blue Staffordshire Terriers. Rocky received an eye injury when he was six hours old and was rushed to a Veterinary in Santee, CA., the Doctor said we'd be lucky if he made it 24 hrs. He did and so Rocky moved to North Park, CA to live with his new human mama and dad who would love and nurture him. Rocky went to work with his mama every Monday-Friday, went shopping at the grocery stores, slept in his little basket next the massage chair while his mama got her pedicures, visited grandpa & grandma, aunts & uncles on the weekends, canine friends, went to the beach, made many of trips to Petco and Petsmart and the list goes on. Wherever his mama went, Rocky was by her side in his little wicker picnic basket. One morning when Rocky was four months old his mama and dad had to go to an animal shelter and while waiting for the shelter to open, they went next door to the humane society to visit with all the beautiful dogs, cats and rabbits. Behind all those windows were animals waiting for new parents to take them home. As mama and dad were visiting with all the animals, they came across a few 4 and 5 month old pit bulls, who seemed to be extremely large for their age, "we're talking monsters" they said. Mama and dad looked at each other strange because Rocky being a Staffordshire Terrier, the largest of the Terrier breed and Rocky being of four months himself was nowhere near those puppies size. The first volunteer that mama and dad seen, they hurried up to ask... "Are all the puppies here ages determined by a licensed Veterinary?" The volunteer answered "yes". They always knew I was small but what they found out next would shock them. Shortly after their trip to the Humane Society, I was diagnosed as a Congenital Dwarf. They were in Awe. I may have been short in stature but I had a big teddy bear heart and was rather muscular as well.
A few months after Rocky's diagnoses, mama and Rocky ended up moving to Lemon Grove, CA with mama's aunt and uncle who Rocky came to know as mama-too and papa. At mama-too and papa's house, Rocky gained a canine brother and two sisters, all Boxers. They towered over Rocky but they let Rocky join their pack and hang just like if he were a big dog too. (I haven't mentioned yet but Rocky always had breathing problems, he was in and out of his Vet's in Santee on many of occasions. He'd had bronchitis, pneumonia and was on and off antibiotics and steroids for his breathing condition. What they told us was that Rocky had normal size organs in a dwarf body.) Anyway back to Rocky's story... One rainy morning, mama and mama too took Rocky to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and entered Rocky in the 2010 Ugly Dog Contest, they entered Rocky in a couple different categories. They had stayed all day and walked Rocky around the Hall to all the different booths, it would take a long time to make it from booth to booth because everyone had to stop to ask what kind of dog Rocky was. Rocky, mama and mama-too would be resting in our seats in the audience while the other event categories that Rocky wasn't entered in and people would come up and want to pet Rocky and ask all about him. Well, Rocky didn't place in the first category he was in but when it came to be the main event of the Ugliest Dog, Rocky placed and was asked to come back up on stage. (Mama and Rocky was up against some steep competition, there were certainly some ugly dogs on stage and mama didn't think Rocky was ugly at all, she thought Rocky was the most handsome of all the dogs that competed that day.) As the judges asked the runner ups to strut their stuff one more time, Rocky was the only one who received a standing ovation by most all the spectators. When the judges called two other dogs names and mama and Rocky were left on stage alone, mama thought Rocky had won but Rocky placed Second and from out of the crowd they named the Ugliest Dog winner which was one of those hairless, crested dog's. Mama was happy that dog won because she knew Rocky wasn't ugly.
After proudly accepting Second Place, time went by. Rocky was still in and out of the Vet's for breathing issues but seemed to be just fine and was living amongst continual love on a daily basis. August 17th mama came home from work with a Beef Dog Cake Recipe that she had planned to make Rocky for his birthday that next day. Rocky would be celebrating his 1st birthday. Well, Rocky got excited when mama got home and started panting and breathing really hard. Mama, mama-too and papa were getting kinda worried that Rocky wouldn't calm down. We put cold wash cloths on him, took him out in the front yard to relax in the cool air, tried giving him candy a.k.a. doggy biscuits but Rocky didn't want candy, wasn't calming down but he was drinking a ton of water. When his belly got swollen, mama knew it was time to take Rocky to the Pet Emergency Hospital. As soon as she walked in, a nurse behind the desk asked what was wrong, mama told the nurse that Rocky was having a hard time breathing. The nurse immediately took Rocky from mama and took him behind a door. The nurse immediately returned to the reception area and asked mama to follow her. She went into an exam room and told mama, Rocky was in Critical Condition and they would need to place Rocky on oxygen, sedate him and put an IV in him. Mama said to do what they had to. A few minutes later, two doctors came out and asked for mama, they took her in another exam room and told her that Rocky's throat was completely shut and the oxygen, sedation and IV wouldn't be enough. They said they could try to put a tracheotomy in Rocky but didn't even know if that would work. They said at that point Rocky had less than a 50/50 chance. As the doctors left the room to go assist Rocky, mama broke down and called mama-too and papa. They got dressed and rushed to the Pet Hospital, mama also called dad to let him know what was going on with Rocky and he rushed to be with Rocky too. The doctors weren't able to get the smallest trach they had in Rocky but they were able to adjust the trach and get a portion of it in Rocky's throat and he was still alive. The doctors then showed us the X-rays they had taken of Rocky and announced news that none of us wanted to hear. Rocky's trachea was the width of a raw spaghetti noodle, a normal size trachea for the size dog Rocky was should have been the size of an adult human's thumb. Mama-too asked many of questions to the doctors because mama couldn't talk, dad and papa listened with tears welling up in their eyes. Rocky's trachea could not be fixed, he could have had soft pallet removed from his throat if he awoke when he came out of anesthesia but the doctors said his chances were not good and he would have had to live with a hole in his throat and would be in and out of the hospital all the time. After that news, a lot of raw emotions were brought to the surface that mama wouldn't want repeated so she'll end that part of the story there.
Rocky took his last breath on his own at approximately 12:10 a.m. the morning of August 18th, 2010 his first birthday. Mama got up that next morning and made Rocky's Beef Birthday cake, close family and friends came to the house that evening to celebrate Rocky's life. We sang Happy Birthday and Rocky's pack enjoyed a piece of Beef Birthday Cake.
It didn't matter where Rocky went, everyone stopped to take a look at Rocky... he had a fan club, just like a "Rock Star"!
Rocky's story...
Rocky was born August 18th, 2009 in Campo, CA to a father name Blue and a mother named Gucci - both Blue Staffordshire Terriers. Rocky received an eye injury when he was six hours old and was rushed to a Veterinary in Santee, CA., the Doctor said we'd be lucky if he made it 24 hrs. He did and so Rocky moved to North Park, CA to live with his new human mama and dad who would love and nurture him. Rocky went to work with his mama every Monday-Friday, went shopping at the grocery stores, slept in his little basket next the massage chair while his mama got her pedicures, visited grandpa & grandma, aunts & uncles on the weekends, canine friends, went to the beach, made many of trips to Petco and Petsmart and the list goes on. Wherever his mama went, Rocky was by her side in his little wicker picnic basket. One morning when Rocky was four months old his mama and dad had to go to an animal shelter and while waiting for the shelter to open, they went next door to the humane society to visit with all the beautiful dogs, cats and rabbits. Behind all those windows were animals waiting for new parents to take them home. As mama and dad were visiting with all the animals, they came across a few 4 and 5 month old pit bulls, who seemed to be extremely large for their age, "we're talking monsters" they said. Mama and dad looked at each other strange because Rocky being a Staffordshire Terrier, the largest of the Terrier breed and Rocky being of four months himself was nowhere near those puppies size. The first volunteer that mama and dad seen, they hurried up to ask... "Are all the puppies here ages determined by a licensed Veterinary?" The volunteer answered "yes". They always knew I was small but what they found out next would shock them. Shortly after their trip to the Humane Society, I was diagnosed as a Congenital Dwarf. They were in Awe. I may have been short in stature but I had a big teddy bear heart and was rather muscular as well.
A few months after Rocky's diagnoses, mama and Rocky ended up moving to Lemon Grove, CA with mama's aunt and uncle who Rocky came to know as mama-too and papa. At mama-too and papa's house, Rocky gained a canine brother and two sisters, all Boxers. They towered over Rocky but they let Rocky join their pack and hang just like if he were a big dog too. (I haven't mentioned yet but Rocky always had breathing problems, he was in and out of his Vet's in Santee on many of occasions. He'd had bronchitis, pneumonia and was on and off antibiotics and steroids for his breathing condition. What they told us was that Rocky had normal size organs in a dwarf body.) Anyway back to Rocky's story... One rainy morning, mama and mama too took Rocky to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and entered Rocky in the 2010 Ugly Dog Contest, they entered Rocky in a couple different categories. They had stayed all day and walked Rocky around the Hall to all the different booths, it would take a long time to make it from booth to booth because everyone had to stop to ask what kind of dog Rocky was. Rocky, mama and mama-too would be resting in our seats in the audience while the other event categories that Rocky wasn't entered in and people would come up and want to pet Rocky and ask all about him. Well, Rocky didn't place in the first category he was in but when it came to be the main event of the Ugliest Dog, Rocky placed and was asked to come back up on stage. (Mama and Rocky was up against some steep competition, there were certainly some ugly dogs on stage and mama didn't think Rocky was ugly at all, she thought Rocky was the most handsome of all the dogs that competed that day.) As the judges asked the runner ups to strut their stuff one more time, Rocky was the only one who received a standing ovation by most all the spectators. When the judges called two other dogs names and mama and Rocky were left on stage alone, mama thought Rocky had won but Rocky placed Second and from out of the crowd they named the Ugliest Dog winner which was one of those hairless, crested dog's. Mama was happy that dog won because she knew Rocky wasn't ugly.
After proudly accepting Second Place, time went by. Rocky was still in and out of the Vet's for breathing issues but seemed to be just fine and was living amongst continual love on a daily basis. August 17th mama came home from work with a Beef Dog Cake Recipe that she had planned to make Rocky for his birthday that next day. Rocky would be celebrating his 1st birthday. Well, Rocky got excited when mama got home and started panting and breathing really hard. Mama, mama-too and papa were getting kinda worried that Rocky wouldn't calm down. We put cold wash cloths on him, took him out in the front yard to relax in the cool air, tried giving him candy a.k.a. doggy biscuits but Rocky didn't want candy, wasn't calming down but he was drinking a ton of water. When his belly got swollen, mama knew it was time to take Rocky to the Pet Emergency Hospital. As soon as she walked in, a nurse behind the desk asked what was wrong, mama told the nurse that Rocky was having a hard time breathing. The nurse immediately took Rocky from mama and took him behind a door. The nurse immediately returned to the reception area and asked mama to follow her. She went into an exam room and told mama, Rocky was in Critical Condition and they would need to place Rocky on oxygen, sedate him and put an IV in him. Mama said to do what they had to. A few minutes later, two doctors came out and asked for mama, they took her in another exam room and told her that Rocky's throat was completely shut and the oxygen, sedation and IV wouldn't be enough. They said they could try to put a tracheotomy in Rocky but didn't even know if that would work. They said at that point Rocky had less than a 50/50 chance. As the doctors left the room to go assist Rocky, mama broke down and called mama-too and papa. They got dressed and rushed to the Pet Hospital, mama also called dad to let him know what was going on with Rocky and he rushed to be with Rocky too. The doctors weren't able to get the smallest trach they had in Rocky but they were able to adjust the trach and get a portion of it in Rocky's throat and he was still alive. The doctors then showed us the X-rays they had taken of Rocky and announced news that none of us wanted to hear. Rocky's trachea was the width of a raw spaghetti noodle, a normal size trachea for the size dog Rocky was should have been the size of an adult human's thumb. Mama-too asked many of questions to the doctors because mama couldn't talk, dad and papa listened with tears welling up in their eyes. Rocky's trachea could not be fixed, he could have had soft pallet removed from his throat if he awoke when he came out of anesthesia but the doctors said his chances were not good and he would have had to live with a hole in his throat and would be in and out of the hospital all the time. After that news, a lot of raw emotions were brought to the surface that mama wouldn't want repeated so she'll end that part of the story there.
Rocky took his last breath on his own at approximately 12:10 a.m. the morning of August 18th, 2010 his first birthday. Mama got up that next morning and made Rocky's Beef Birthday cake, close family and friends came to the house that evening to celebrate Rocky's life. We sang Happy Birthday and Rocky's pack enjoyed a piece of Beef Birthday Cake.
It didn't matter where Rocky went, everyone stopped to take a look at Rocky... he had a fan club, just like a "Rock Star"!