Rocky is part of a brand new series of rescue stories featuring senior dogs. I had the pleasure of spending a little time with him and his adoptive family at their home in Toronto, Canada. I’d been warned beforehand that Rocky was a loveably, low-key guy and thought, “Wonderful! This will be an easy shoot.” But I wasn’t prepared to be immediately bowled over by the sweetness of his soul. Time it took to fall in love? 60 seconds.
“Prior to Rocky, we had Primo. Primo was a mutt that was born in rescue. His mom was found pregnant on this streets of Ohio. We were told she was a good mum, but was so undernourished when found, and tired, that she gave up nursing when the puppies were about 6 weeks. We got Primo when he was 7 weeks. He was our first furry family pet and we loved him to bits. He was selective with who he liked but was fiercely loyal to his family and property. We lost him at the end of September 2018, just 2 months before his 13th birthday. The house felt so empty without him and at every turn, there was a reminder of him. We looked on the Save Our Scruff page and saw many cute dogs, but something about Rocky spoke to us.”
“We couldn’t put our finger on it. However, his profile said that he was afraid of men, sudden or loud noises and he was approximately 11!! This “frightened” us, but every week or so, we kept checking back and kept seeing his beautiful face. No one wanted him. He was old, he was black but he was beautiful to us so we took the plunge and completed the application and provided all the references. We had a 90 minute telephone interview and then were told that we made it to the meet and greet.
“The second we walked in the door and saw his adorable lopsided face, we fell in love. He was missing so many teeth as they had to do emergency dental surgery when he arrived in Canada and his canines were worn down so much (they believe from being chained up somewhere and trying to free himself ) – his tongue sometimes slides out the side of his mouth because of the lack of teeth to hold it in - adding just another adorable layer to him.
Steve sat beside him and, although Rocky did not make eye contact with him (but he did with me) he seemed to really want his approval.”
“He is like two dogs in one! In the house he is extremely mellow. Likes to “own” the big chair – but doesn’t mind sharing if you plan on petting him nonstop. If you do stop, you get the nice big furry paw reminder what your job is. The only time he barks is when Steve is making his dinner. For the first couple of weeks, he would not look Steve in the eye and would go into a submissive position when Steve would first enter the room. That did not last long and Steve gained his trust and reassurance and now they are fast friends.”
“He loves his walks and is a big sniffer. He can catch a scent and almost pull your arm out of the socket! He likes to drink from any puddle he can find and will walk through them and even lie in them! He absolutely loves the snow and as it melts he will seek out a little patch to lie on.”
“He doesn’t know how to play... when you try, he stares at you like you’re strange. However, we do believe that since he was only altered just prior to his adoption, that he has sired many litters. Instead of tearing apart his stuffed squeaky toys like most dogs, he carries them one by one ever so gently and tucks them under his arm pits! We can’t wait for the results of the genetic tests to see if there are babies, grand babies, great grand babies!!”
“I would say be realistic – Yes, you will get attached and know that it will not be a 10-15 year relationship and that heartbreak will likely come sooner than with a young dog. However, even young dogs don’t come with a longevity guarantee! But if you are looking for less activity, the senior dog is great. They are grateful for the love and you get the love back. People always say to us “how lucky he is that we saved him” – but I think he saved us. We love him to bits and can’t imagine our home without the fuzzy beast.”
Thanks so much to Rocky, Cheryl, Natasha and the rest of the Negovanlis family for taking part in this series. You’ve really shown that senior dogs can be wonderful companions!