Rocco, the Paddling Toyhound (Oldies Club sponsor dog)

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7 February 2017: We’re very sad to have to update this page with the news that Rocco has very sadly passed away. Our thoughts and thanks are with his wonderful fosterer, who took great care of our boy for us during his years with Oldies Club. They made a marvellous team and we know Rocco is going to be missed very much. Sleep tight, Rocco.

Rocco arrived in Oldies Club care around five years ago and, despite being a very handsome boy, did not receive any suitable adoption enquiries for well over a year in our care. It took him some months to really settle into his wonderful foster home and we had concerns about how a move to another home would affect him. Combining this with the lack of enquiries for him, we have now placed him in our sponsor dog scheme. This means that Rocco will remain in his foster home on a permanent basis, with Oldies Club covering his vet bills for the rest of his life :-)

Rocco is a fun-loving crossbreed boy of around 14-15 years of age, who came into Oldies Club care after his family split up. His foster Mum says he is a fabulous house dog. He behaves well in his home and is not destructive when left. He is a good boy when travelling in the car, though he does like to have the window open! He is a challenging dog though and does have some behavioural ‘quirks’  and can become stressed when outside of the house, including during visits to the vet. His fosterer has worked very hard with him and manages his behaviour carefully.

Rocco loves to play and is happiest when at home, playing with his toys. He can be gentle when playing, but sometimes doesn’t know when to stop and is not the best at taking things gently. He loves rolling round in the dirt, running through puddles and barging around like a puppy, forgetting he’s meant to be an oldie! He is not a fan of cuddles, unless he decides he’d like a very brief one.

Rocco loves presents and has been very blessed in his foster home!

Rocco enjoys his walks, which are very fast paced – no gentle plodding for this boy! His regular walks of around half an hour at a time, help greatly with his mobility and back-leg strength, along with his medication, which has made an amazing improvement. Rocco is not great with other dogs. He will walk past smaller dogs if they don’t show interest in him or get too close, but he isn’t happy about getting close to dogs of his size or larger.

Aren’t I a handsome chap?

A friend of the family visits at times to keep Rocco company if he is home alone and he behaves himself with her. He seems wary of very young children though and while he has been okay, with supervision, with slightly older children while out on walks, he does not have young visitors at home.

Although Rocco is far from the easiest dog to come into Oldies Club care, his fosterer says he is an amazing, funny and lovable dog and adult visitors to the home think he is wonderful. Rocco’s fosterer has shown a great deal of patience and determination in helping the headstrong Rocco settle into his foster home and is very pleased with how things have worked out, after all the hard work. We are all very glad that Rocco is able to remain there for the rest of his life :-)

 

 

 

Rocco had a dental, his ears cleaned and treated and his pressure sores checked, after coming into Oldies Club care. He had a full blood test, which came back as excellent for his age. He does have arthritis in his spine and receives Metacam on a regular basis to help with that. He isn’t allowed to overdo things, despite his love for toys, as this makes him stiff. If he does insist on overdoing things(!), he is given Tramadol to help with any pain.

Rocco’s foster Mum says that despite the saying ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ this isn’t the case with Rocco (or indeed other dogs). With boundaries and guidance, Rocco has settled into his foster home and his foster Mum, after all her hard work, has been rewarded with a loyal, responsive and indeed handsome chap!

Did we mention Rocco loves toys/presents? Here he is with the wonderful things he received through our Secret Santa scheme for sponsor dogs :-)

If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor Rocco or one of the other special oldies we are caring for in our sponsor dog scheme.
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