Rocky

You know how they say there is someone out there for everyone? Well, I think the same goes for dogs and dog owners too. Rocky is the perfect dog for our family. We enjoy his curiosity, endless energy, and his loving nature; he’s truly one of a kind. I’ll be the first one to admit; Rocky wouldn’t have been a good match for just anyone, our first beagle we had for 10 years, Skippy, molded us into the patient beagle lovers we are today. You see, Skippy was an epileptic beagle; we went through a lot with him and when he left us, we had a hole in our hearts that not just any puppy could fill. We knew we could never replace Mr. Skip (as we called him), but we knew there was a beagle out there for us. As soon as I saw Rocky; I knew he was the one! During the first week after the adoption; and a few pairs of chewed up flip flops later, Rocky really started to get used to us and his new home. It wasn’t long before he weaseled his way into sleeping with us at night; which I swore would never happen. He came to us crate trained and house broken, which was a god send! He’s just a normal puppy with lots of energy that needs his daily walks and playtime from us or he’ll act out to get our attention (thus, my flip flops). Rocky has been with us over 3 months now, and I’m happy to report prior to the holidays he passed his first obedience training class with flying colors! Our friends and neighbors can’t believe that he’s the same dog we brought home. Now don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t a ‘bad’ dog when we got him, just a “handful” was the way I’d describe him. He’s far from perfectly behaved, but the 8 week training really improved his manners he previously lacked. He can “sit”, “stay”, “come” and finally doesn’t pull on the lead anymore when we walk him. Shortly after we began the training class we noticed that Rocky always wanted to chew on our sheets, throw blankets, etc. I decided I’d give him his own blanket; a shot in the dark, but maybe it’s what he wanted. Sure enough, here we are months later and each night; Rocky gets his blanket and kneads it with his paws while he nibbles miniature bit size holes in his blanket. He’s never chewed anything since. ‘’I’ve never known a dog to have a security blanket; but Rocky definitely has one now. Maybe we should have changed his name to Linus! Although our 10 year old lab was our first rescue dog; which we obtained through an acquaintance of ours, Rocky our first ‘formal’ adoption we’ve made from a rescue site. I have to say that I’ll never get a pet from anywhere else. It really makes us feel good that we’ve given Rocky the loving home he deserves; and he’s given us so much in return- his faithful companionship! Thanks to all of you at The Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue for matching us up with Rocky and for the time and effort you all donate to save a beagle’s life. Stacy & Bryon Gibson