Rocky, born on November 29, 2017, is a red brindle male, surrendered by his owners who want him to have a nice home where his people can spend more time with him. They had him for a year and after he recovered from his broken paw, he didn’t want to live outside anymore and raised quite a ruckus during their absence at work.
He was a bit bewildered during the car ride, but settled intermittently, keeping watch on the outside sights as well as his female riding companion – who was not at all interested in this handsome boy!
A stop at the vet to get his vaccines, a wellness exam (excellent health report) and micro-chip, where he was very well behaved enjoying the extra attention. He will have his neuter surgery very soon and after a recovery period will be available for adoption.
Arriving at foster’s, meeting another Greyhound and walking along the beach, or trying to….what a magnificent sight, two blacks along side a red brindle; people stopping, taking photos, asking all about the dogs. He was spinning around trying to take in all the new sights and smells.
Back at foster dad’s, after checking out all the rooms, he hopped up on the bed with his new female friend and posed for some greyt photos!
Rocky is good with other dogs, young children and teenagers. Not sure about cats.
Update August 16th, 2019
Rocky is a delicate little guy, weighing in at 55 lbs. and needs to go out more often than the resident Greyhound….so he has had a couple of accidents in the house. Foster will be adjusting the routine to try and avoid any further accidents.
They started on separation testing today, left alone for only 5 minutes but after some initial whining, he settled down and waited by the door. Rocky is quite the vocalizer (whining) and barks at other dogs trying to get to them when he’s on leash to play.
He is eating well and loves the living room couch and foster’s bed. He thinks he’s a lap dog and manages to get on foster’s knee when he is working at his desk on the computer! He is quite malleable and loves to be loved on.
On August 22nd, Rocky will have an echo-cardiogram/heart ultrasound to check out his heart murmur which is somewhat louder than normal (Greyhounds do have a normal heart murmur). His neuter surgery has been post-poned until the results from the test are received.
Update September 20, 2019
Rocky is adjusting nicely and learning a lot from the resident Greyhound, who kind of bosses him around when he gets in her face, wanting to play. His appetite is good and if he had a choice, would eat a lot more than the 2.5 meals that are provided!
He has learned to get into the car on his own, and just the word ‘car’ will send him to the front door, ready to go. He is getting much better on leash although is easily distracted by other dogs, people, kids and skunks! Fortunately he barks when he sees the latter, scaring the critters away and avoiding a stinky outcome.
At the local fenced park he loves to run and although he is fast his gangling legs are quite a sight moving across the field. A good long nap always follows a run, those gangling legs high in the air in a roaching position.
Rocky has a very sensitive personality and loves to cuddle and be near his person….moving up behind, stealth-like, often almost getting stepped on before he is discovered standing so very close-by. He sleeps quietly all night but is an extremely early riser and ready for a walk immediately to take care of business.
UPDATE – September 21st, 2019
Greetings to all of our amazing greyhound lovers,
Now that we have a better idea as to what’s going on with our absolutely fantastic teeny boy Rocky, we’d like to get you all caught up.
Rocky is a local boy who came to us from a loving family who could no longer take care of him, as always we were more than happy to help a beautiful hound and the people who love him. We found him a great foster home, picked him up and made arrangements to have him neutered and fully vetted to get him ready for adoption and a new forever family. He was taken to the awesome folks over at Yaletown Pet Hospital and when they performed their pre-surgery check-up it was noted that he had a very loud and serious heart murmur. After discussing it with 3 vets, we all agreed that we couldn’t move forward with the neuter as there was an added risk to Rocky’s safety. It was agreed that further examination should be done by way of either a chest x-ray or an echo-cardiogram/heart ultrasound. A chest x-ray alone will provide certain information but can be limited and not as thorough as ultrasound – although often both are done.
We went ahead with the x-rays and echo-cardiogram/heart ultrasounds. The results were not good. They discovered that he has significant and serious issues with both the left and right side of his heart. Due to the seriousness of his heart condition, it was suggested that we do a follow up with a Cardiologist along with additional testing so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, figure out the best treatment plan and keep Rocky as healthy and happy as we possibly can. We agreed.
We contacted Dr. Mark Harmon, Board Certified in Veterinary Cardiology, at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Seattle and booked an appointment. After more testing was done, Dr. Mark Harmon determined that Rocky’s heart condition is indeed very serious. Much to our heartbreak, we were made aware that Rocky could pass as soon as tomorrow, or if we’re lucky, 10 years from now.
At the recommendation of specialists, Rocky is starting a specialized cardiac support diet that has to be imported from the US. He is also beginning a medication regime that will keep him healthy and happy for as long as possible. Rocky will need to continue his specialized diet and take medication for the rest of his life, along with specialized care and support from his vets and his people. Due to these special medical needs, Rocky will be entering our “Forever Foster” program. This means that NCGL will be covering the cost of his specialized care for as long as we’re blessed to have his beautiful happy soul among us. We are covering the costs of his medication, prescription food, vet visits, additional veterinary support, and testing. Rocky will be 2 in November this year.
One of the best things about dogs is that they live in the moment, they do not think about tomorrow or 10 years from now – they love their people today, they love their walks, they love their toys and they love to be loved. Rocky doesn’t know there is anything wrong with him and is happy – we will do our best to keep it this way as long as we possibly can, whether that be just today or the next (hopefully) 10 years of his life.
We want to thank all of the amazing vets, fosters, volunteers and supporters that make helping Rocky possible. We are happy you have all put us in the position that we can give dogs like Rocky the best shot at a happy life and hope with your continued support we can continue to help dogs like Rocky for many more years to come
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We love you Rocky, you are amazing and we’re going to make sure that your life is as full and joyful as we possibly can.
A special thank you goes out to Michelle Wright at Furry Friends Photography for the beautiful photos – thank you so much!
If you’d like to contribute to Rocky’s ongoing care we would really appreciate it; by cheque payable to NCGL, e-Transfer to treasurer@ncgl.ca or https://ncgl.ca/how-to-help/
2019-10-08 Update
Rocky is in his third week of beta blocker heart medicine (Atenolol), increasing each week from ¼ pill twice a day to the full dosage of 1 pill twice a day in the 4th week. He has begun the food transition to the cardiac support diet, which he devours with much enthusiasm!
The best news of all is that Dr. Mark Harmon at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners (in Seattle) and Dr. Roxanne Vandermeer, at Yaletown Pet Hospital (in Vancouver) have been consulting with one another to come up with a tailored anesthetic protocol in order to provide NCGL with the option to neuter Rocky. They have been successful! This protocol will involve removing certain drugs from the anesthetic and adding specific other drugs. There is still a certain amount of risk, but both doctors are confident to go ahead with neuter surgery. The date is set for October 23, 2019.
In the meantime, Rocky doesn’t know there is anything wrong with his heart and is enjoying life to the fullest! He loves to run at the local fenced park, goes on 3 walks per day with the resident Greyhound, trying to get into everything along the way as well as meeting and greeting every man, woman, child, dog/cat/squirrel/racoon or skunk that comes into view. Definitely interested in anything that stirs or smells good! Foster has started to walk Rocky in a harness to try and teach him some leash manners and so far, that is going fairly well. He loves his car rides. In between all of that, he is a content Greyhound doing what they all do, sleep!
Keep those ‘paws crossed’ on October 23rd and we will update everyone following his surgery.
2019-12-16 Update
Lucky Rocky – NCGL got this spiffy Chilly Dogs coat for his 2nd birthday on November 29th.
And then for Christmas he got a beautiful hand-made sweater by Ellie R. who donated this sweater – especially for Rocky on those extra chilly days – pretty nice match to his beautiful red brindle fur-coat! Rocky recommends that every Greyhound should have one of these in their wardrobe! For a custom-made sweater coat, Contact Ellie at: erayner@shaw.ca
His housemates, Aachoo and Fanny, are a bit jealous of his new duds but they do have their own fancy coats so they make a pretty stunning trio out on their walks!
Pictured here left to right: Fanny, Aachoo, Rocky – waiting for a special treat!
Rocky will remain in our “Forever Foster” program until he leaves for the Bridge!
