How Rocko came into our lives

Along came a phone call on a late Wednesday night. It was AA Small Animal Emergency Clinic on the line. I said to myself what the heck does Remi's work want with her at this time of night? It was 10pm, and we were tucked into bed tightly ready for a long night rest. This phone call would forever change our life.

I do not recall the specifics but it went something like this... The emergency clinic called to see if we could help with a boxer who was in some bad shape. Bad shape you say? Normally, if an animal at the clinic is in bad shape euthanasia is common. However, that was not the case. A male boxer came in with a clean broken jaw, and the owner at the time could not afford his Vet bill to repair the damage to this poor guy. They were given the option of euthanasia or surrendering him to a rescue or a family to cover his hospital fees. Surrender it was. AA had placed the call to Remi, as the knew she worked with a small animal rescue out of Morehead, KY also known as STAR.

We made the phone call to STAR asking if they knew of any boxer rescues in the area that would be willing to help out. There were a few prospects but nothing seemed solid. At this time, we knew something needed to be done but no one knew exactly what to do. The next day, STAR was our answer. They agreed to cover the cost of the surgery if we were to do the grunt work. And then the journey began.

I mean, could we really say no to this guy?

We picked the Boxer up from the clinic and brought him back home until we could meet with a Vet who would later do his surgery. The moment I picked up this boxer, my heart had melted and I was in love. This poor guy was in so much pain it was unbearable. I stayed up all night, loving on him so he knew that someone cared.

Poor man at our house :(

Two days later, we brought him down to Lexington, KY to North Lexington Veterinary Clinic where we met with Dr. Hume. He was the answer to our prayers, and had agreed to the surgery. In the early morning of the third day we drove back down to Lexington for his surgery. Dr. Hume was so nice, he allowed Remi and I to sit in on the surgery, where we were able to photograph and video tape the entire 3 hours.  It was a pretty awesome experience, and we were glad to be there.

Being examined before surgery

I think he was ready!

A few weeks after his surgery, we brought him out with us to Cave Run Lake.  He didn't go in the water of course, but he liked walking around the trails with us!

Oh the dog bowl that we've been searching for! We went through so many to find one that he could eat out of with the contraption on his face.  

Bat dog! :)

After 12 loong weeks, he was ready to get his 13 pins removed!  While he was under, he was neutered and had a gastropexy so it was a very rough day for him.  At the end of the day when we picked him up, he looked like this...

This face says it all!!

He had gone through a lot in such a short time but he was a trooper during the whole thing.  He is such a wonderful dog and we are so happy to have him in our lives.  We could not have been more lucky to have a dog so calm, housebroken, does well off the leash, gets along with ALL animals (yes, Remi's roommate had a ferret he played with), actually listens (can't say that for all my animals!), and shows us love whenever possible!

Nowadays, he likes to do what he does best...

 ...SLEEP!

...and beg for treats! :)

So that's the story of Rocko!