March 16 1990 —– Jan. 24 1999
Yellow Labrador Retriever
Rocky was born 3/16/90 him and 2 sisters were the only
survivors of a litter of 9 pups. Rocky was yellow and his sisters black.
We brought him home on May 11 1990 and our lives changed for the better from
that day on. Rocky was a chubby little fella but was the cutest.
Rocky was born with many problems we wouldn’t know about until he started
growing up. His first problem was that he had to be neutered his one testicle
didn’t drop so that was the first in a list of problems for this handsome boy.
He developed allergies which he had all his life no meds or special foods
would help. His feet were constantly sore from his licking.
Just shy of his second birthday he had his first seizure which we at the time
didn’t know was epilepsy. His seizures were brought under control and the
last 6 or 7 years of his life he was seizure free.
Also around the age of 2 we discovered he had severe hip dysplasia
so he had to be on a diet all his life. By the age of 7.
One day he couldn’t get up off the lawn we had to carry him into the house.
He was put on Rimadyl which for us was a miracle drug he was back to
his old self in a week. Rock was also severely burned by his vet 3rd degree
down his back. He was being operated on for swallowing a corn cob and
it was stuck in his intestine. He was laying on a heating pad which was on high.
That is another story which I don’t need to tell.
All in all you see Rocky had a hard life physically but it never got him down,
you would have never know he had problems. He never let it get him down.
He loved life. Every morning he was always in your face to get up and go for his walks.
He loved to run in the woods and it was a joy just being able to see him run
and jump after we thought he wouldn’t be able to. He loved to hunt especially duck.
He loved jumping in the lake no matter the temp. He would come out with ice cycles
hanging from him but he would go back for more. He gave us so much unconditional love
he was spoiled but he deserved it. Rocky started having problems at
the end of 1998 and it was found he had carcinoma after having a biopsy on a
tumor on his lymph node. He wouldn’t’ eat for us or take his meds.
He just wasn’t his happy self anymore.
We made the hardest decision of our lives that night and our new vet was so
good to come out on a Sunday night to help us give Rocky his peace.
He was so exited he was going for a ride in the car which he loved so much.
We said our good byes which was very hard but we knew it was for the best and
he wagged his tail to the end which he was always known for
his never ending wagging tail.
So it has been a year and we so miss him he was our heart dog and we know we
will join him one day over the bridge. We have a new guy,
yellow which I am sure Rocky would approve of and would love to teach some
of his tricks to.
But we know he is watching over all of us.
Gus was born June 99 he is not Rocky but he
is filling that void.
Linda and Ray
| Rocky |