(Sorry its long, but worth the read!) This is the story of Rocky…. In early September, we were having a busy day here at the shelter. All the kennels were full and we were not taking in anymore dogs. A family came in asking if we had room for three pitbulls; they were politely told no that they would need to try again and to call. I was coming up from the kitchen when I saw a make-shift trailer parked along the side of the building. When I got to the front I asked Donie if she knew what it was, she then told me it belonged to the people who had just asked if we had space for any dogs that they had 3 pitbulls. I went outside to ask to see the dogs; when I got to the trailer all I could see were the pieces of metal sticking out everywhere, the ply wood holding it all together and a white head sticking out over the top. I climbed on the tongue to see a beautiful white and brindle male pitbull, who I came to know his name was Rocky. He was chained fast to the inside of the trailer with a large metal chain. I reached out and touch his hind end, he turned and looked at me but didn’t growl, or anything just stood there wagging his tail. When I looked down into the trailer more I saw the gas cans that had been rolling around with him, the sheet of metal that hung out into the middle of the trailer; all the potential hazards he could’ve hurt himself on or worse. I had heard there were 3 pitbulls they had wanted to surrender so I asked where the other two were, the man pointed at the bottom of the trailer and that is where I saw the two small crates under the sheet of metal where two female pitbulls were. One I learned was the male’s daughter, Fuego, and the other was the male’s breeding partner; yes sadly Rocky and his daughter were both used for breeding even though Fuego was only a year old. Sadly we were not able to help the female, but the male and his daughter we could. I had the staff rearrange dogs so we could fit these two sweet pitbulls into our shelter. Little did we know the impact Rocky would have one someone’s life… On September 9th a man by the name of Darren came to the shelter. He told everyone at the desk that he had served in desert shield desert storm and now suffered from PTSD. Darren was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. While at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the 3rd Ranger BN. He graduated the U.S. Army sniper school and then was attached to the.536 MP Company in Grafenwohr, Germany. He came to the shelter to look at the dogs; He had recently lost his therapy dog .With my husband being a veteran, I was hoping Darren would find a friend in our kennels to help through what I know can be very terrifying; living with PTSD. Soon Darren asked if he could see Rocky, the staff got him out for Darren and outside they went. When Darren and Rocky started making their way back to the shelter I asked Darren what he thought of Rocky. He looked at me and said… “I can’t imagine my life without him” Darren and his family went home that evening to think about it. The next afternoon Darren called and said he was on his way, that he needed Rocky in his life. A little after twelve o’clock, noon, Rocky was leaving the shelter with his new family. Little did he know what was in store for him… in only two short months and a lot of training Rocky is proudly a PTSD certified Therapy dog to Darren. Rocky is starting to get a little more dog friendly with other males, he walks two miles to the dog park, gets to run and play, and then him and Darren walk the two miles back home. Rocky now thinks he is a lap dog and is the best friend and snuggle buddy to a young girl and the calm in the storm for his dad, Darren. We couldn’t be more proud of Rocky and for his new dad and family for starting with a pitbull used for the sole purpose of breeding and turning him into a advocate for not only his breed but shelter animals as a whole. Amber
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:13:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015