Rocco has been a wonderful addition to our family. Even though he has only been with us for eight days, he has already integrated himself into our daily routines. He goes to bed when we do, eats when his new pug brother eats and follows his brother outside for bathroom breaks.

Rocco loves to explore every inch of our big backyard and play with the toys in the toy box we had for his brother, who has been really good about letting Rocco play with the toys. On walks, Rocco is a little spitfire. Although Rocco's legs are shorter than his brother's legs, Rocco gives him a real run for his money for the lead position. Thanks to Rocco, we are all going to be in really good shape by the summer.

When we come home, we usually find Rocco and his brother sitting together on the couch. At night, Rocco snuggles up on a blanket with us and watches TV. While we are on the computer, Rocco will sit by our feet and give us licks or jump up on our lap.

We are so grateful to have been given the opportunity to give Rocco a new forever home. In fact, we bought a pug cake to celebrate Rocco's induction into the family and his brother's 8th birthday! Rocco has been such a good boy and brings a smile to our faces every morning with his kind and loving ways. We are looking forward to a long and happy life with Rocco as part of our family!!

Rocco is a very loveable and reliable friend. When he first came to me he took awhile to settle in. But once he was comfortable with me he provided hours of laughter and amusement. He loves his little stuffy toys and will bring one to your feet or lap to play. He did get a little possessive of the toy but we have been working to correct this, by having him sit patiently, while I pick up the toy and then throw it.

Rocco had his dental done. 4 baby teeth were removed plus the tartar was cleaned off. The staff remarked on how well behaved he was. He has had a clean bill of health and is now ready for his next adventure. He goes back on Feb 25th for a check up on how the teeth and gums have healed. When he came back from his dental surgery, he could not chew on any of the toys because of the sutures in his gum. He was looking all over for his favourite toy. After a few days, I gave him his new toy we got at the Pugalug and he was so happy.

He has lots of energy and loves his walks. They have been limited somewhat with the colder weather but we've enjoyed a few sunny day walks and I can tell he is interested in exploring his neighbourhood.

At night his favourite position is to lie beside me and place his head and paws on my thigh to nap. When I'm working at the desk, he will be in the chair lying behind me. We have been practicing watching pug videos and I hold him and reward him when he sits quietly and watches. I feel his reaction to animals on TV can be altered with continued training.

We have been alternating with him sleeping in the crate at night and then sleeping on the bed. When he wakes up in the morning he makes quiet, little noises and comes and gently licks my face.

He does bark at noises in the hallway so an apartment or condo probably would not be suitable. He will also bark at some dog outside if the curtain is open and he can lookout the window.

He also has a playful habit of pulling on my pant leg. I've been discouraging this. It's his way of saying he wants to play.

He eats twice a day with treats in between when we are training. He enjoys some fruit and cheese, which make the A list for rewarding, that and freeze-dried liver!

Rocco will make a wonderful, loving companion to the right family.

Rocco has settled into the routine. He is eating, eliminating and sleeping regularly. He loves his toy playtime when I toss the stuffy and he runs and brings it back to my lap (then repeat). Below is a picture of him relaxed and comfortable in our home.

Rocco had an exciting weekend to tell you about. First, he attended the Pugalug Pugentine event on Sunday. He immediately blended in with the "In Crowd," zipping about from pug to pug. He met one family - Mom, Dad and Son who had a stuffed pug on the floor in front of them. Well, Rocco and a stuffy is like a duck to water. He quickly made friends with the family, crawling into Mom's lap in order to whisk away the pug stuffy.

Next up was the squeaky toys at the Pug Value Village. One squeak and he was right at the table, standing on those little hind legs. Rocco sure loves his stuffy, squeaky toys and the fact that there was a table with a nice, friendly volunteer meant the world to our Luv Pug. Of course, I had to buy Rocco a new, squirrel squeaky.

He didn't spend too much time with any one person - he just kept moving from one to another. When the Pugtonas broke out, Rocco could be heard barking right along with everyone. There was a little pug puppy that was attracted to Rocco, but Rocco was not into playing with the youngin'.

On Monday, Feb 10th, he went in for his dental work. He was happy to finally go for a long walk. The cold weather has kept us to just short walks, but we went for a longer walk to get to the vet. When the Vet Tech came up to take Rocco back, Rocco began to bark at her. This behaviour is something that I've noticed about Rocco - when a stranger approaches directly, he barks a warning at them. However, when the Vet tech took his leash and led him over to the back door, Rocco quieted down and let her take control.

The surgery went well and the Vet reported that Rocco was a perfect little patient. He went along with whatever they had him doing. Rocco had 4 baby teeth removed to prevent the adult teeth from being obstructed. He had a cleaning and there was a big lump of tartar on a molar. However, after it was removed, there was no sign of gum irritation. He has a follow-up appointment in 2 weeks to have his mouth checked.

The after-care instructions are for him to not have any stuffed toys for the next 14 days so the sutures are not stressed. Rocco watched with sad eyes as I gathered up all the stuffies and put them away in the cupboard. However, when it is time, he will get his new squeaky squirrel.

He was sedated at the vet's, but perked up on the walk home. However, after he ate, he settled into his chair and I could see his eyes closing as he passed out. After, I carried him to bed and snuggled him under the comforter.

Little Rocco went to the vet and was a pug superstar (even getting the thermometer in the "you know where" did not phase our intrepid, little pug). He weighs in at a whopping 8.5 Kg and the vet remarked on how he was in great shape. The examination revealed that he still has 3 baby teeth (two incisors and 1 canine), which are preventing adult teeth from erupting. We've scheduled a dental appointment for Feb 10th. Rocco's blood work came back perfect (did I expect anything less from this guy?).

On the behavioural side, Rocco has begun eating regularly. His loss of appetite was mainly due to his transition and adjustment to new digs. He has regularly initiated play with the stuffy toys. He does get a little possessive after awhile so we'll work on getting him chilled for the toy toss game.

Rocco is now happily greeting me when I get home from work and I got my first kiss/lick from him today. He does enjoy a good walk but, with these temperatures, we have had to curtail our activity to the backyard. However, I did take him out for a short walk this morning. He was so excited and sniffed all of the snow banks along our side street. When we got back into the room, he was doing little Pugtoynas of excitement. Our plan is to do a walk to the park on the weekend.

Rocco is a 6 1/2 year old, male pug with short legs and a big, loving heart.

Rocco took some time to settle in. As a foster volunteer, I've always thought that the time it takes for a pug to settle in is directly proportional to the amount of love that they have received from their previous home. Rocco is a shining example of that principle. He was anxious and confused for the first couple of days and he did not want to eat. But once he had adjusted to his new home and companions, all that love in his little pug heart filled the place with warmth (and his stomach full of chicken).

For example, for the first couple of nights, he slept in his bed and crate because that was familiar to him. But then, on the 3rd night, the Polar Vortex came to Toronto and I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of little whimpers. I opened my eyes to see little Rocco, sitting on the floor beside my bed, asking to come up and snuggle. I shifted aside and patted the edge of the bed. The little bunny jumped up, came up to my face for a greeting, then immediately burrowed himself under the blanket, coming to sleep by my feet.

Tonight, as I was preparing this, he was by his crate giving little whimper sounds. His crate is by the front door so I thought he was telling me he needed to go out. After we came back in, he continued the whimpering. I was concentrating on the computer when I realized that he had gone into his crate to get his stuffed fish toy. The next thing I hear is him growling and shaking the toy -- Rocco simply wanted to play. When I called him, he brought the fish over to me so I had to include a picture of that.

Finally, I have to report that he enjoys relaxing on my lap while watching television. I had a pug who did that each night and I missed that feeling of weight and gentle breathing on my thighs. Rocco has brought back fond memories of that time.

Rocco goes to the vet tomorrow for a general checkup. He loves the walks around the neighbourhood, but tomorrow we will take a cab to the vet so we'll see how he feels about that.