360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
It is with great sadness that we let our Rocky pass over the rainbow bridge. With his spine deterioration, and muscle atrophy, it was getting too much for him. As hard as it was to make the decision, it was harder watching him go downhill. When he was rescued, 3 of his children were also rescued at the same time. I know he has out lived at least 2 of them.
I want to write this send off for him, so people thinking of adopting a dog from Pugalug, like we did with Rocky know that Pugalug fosters were there for us while Rocky was settling down, and helped us over the bump. What a big bump that was too.
Rocky came to us with many emotional issues, which we knew there would be, but just not to the extent he had them. They never completely went away, but finally after a year we were able to not crate him when we left, and the destruction stopped. I was told that he chose me to adopt him. Which was true, as when I went to pick him up at his foster home, and I was looking for mine among the brood that greeted me, I didn't have to look far. He was sitting on the floor beside me. Upon arriving at our home he decided his dad would be his favourite person. I suspect because he was abused by a woman. But he could be a big momma's boy!
It still took a while for him to come around. Although he was always first in line for food, and would accept a belly rub, he wouldn't come to you on his own for at least a couple of months. But when he did come looking for affection especially with his dad, he couldn't get close enough. Which I know is a pug thing. My husband would lay on the couch and Rocky would crawl over his whole body to sit on the arm of the couch by his head. Gradually he would lay on my husband, with just his butt on the arm of the couch. With me he would always lay by my legs. If I wasn't sitting the way he wanted me to, he would paw at my legs and give me the look. Of course we were there for the comfort and convenience of not only him but Ginger our black female pug.
For those that have been going to the Pugalug gatherings for a long time, may remember Rocky from the Chinese New Year celebration. He was the one that started to eat the romaine lettuce after the lion dancers dropped it. It was like food falling from heaven! For several weeks after every time outside and he heard a plane he would look up. I never knew how much he liked lettuce until the first time I got the salad spinner out after we got him. He went cuckoo! Of course I had to give him some lettuce. Mind you he loved all fruit and vegetables. Between him and a local groundhog, with a rabbit in the mix, I never got any strawberries from my strawberry patch. I did tell him he was a carnivore, but that fell to deaf ears.
The many antics he did so he could see his dad are legendary in our household. A couple years ago while doing leg lifts with Rocky sitting beside me on the couch, and my husband close by was one of the funniest. My leg would go up, his head would go down. Down would go my leg, and his head would go up. All so he could see his dad, who wasn't moving. He had a panicky look on his face too.
A few years ago when his eye sight started failing, he would go searching for his dad at night. Sleeping in our room he didn't have far to go in his search. Since he couldn't see him in the dark, that must have meant that he wasn't there. So he would scratch on the door looking for him. We would wake up several times a night, turn on the light and go back to sleep. After the 3rd night of this we went out and got a night light. Problem solved. Until the ice storm and no electricity. My husband had to sleep downstairs where it was safe to light a candle. Many the night I would wake up and check on my brood to find Rocky in the corner just staring at his dad!
He didn't mind dark enclosed spaces either. There were a couple times he got shut in the closet by accident, when his dad was getting ready for work. He didn't scratch on the door to get out. Calling him didn't help either. But the past 3-4 years we know he hasn't been able to hear either. The last place he got shut in a couple weeks ago was the laundry room. I got panicky given his mobility issues. Luckily I thought of where would he go, and knew where ever his dad went he would be. So I found him quickly. After each time he was found, he would calmly walk out like nothing happened.
So pass the rainbow bridge Rocky, knowing that we will meet again, and you can have all the belly rubs and lettuce you want.
Love your mom, dad, Joshua, Jed, and your pug siblings Ginger and Pink.
