13/2/19 – Rocko has very sadly passed away. Our thoughts are with his lovely foster family who took such good care of him.
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Rocko is a gorgeous 14 year old Staffy boy who originally came into our care as the Council would no longer allow dogs in the property apart from owner’s assistance dog. Rocko was in our care 8 months before we thought his forever home had finally arrived.
Unfortunately not long after being adopted a change in circumstances meant Rocko was being left longer and he was not happy with this despite other dogs in the household. He returned to our care but had to go to another foster home. Again he wasn’t happy and sadly he has a lot of upheaval. Due to his separation anxiety and stress Oldies Club decided we needed to find him a permanent foster home as his final move and he would be an Oldies Club sponsor dog with all vet bills paid by Oldies Club.
Rocko struggles with separation anxiety quite badly at the moment. He has pretty much completely lost his hearing now and his eyesight is going too which is most likely contributing to his lack of awareness and stress. He is on ongoing medication for his stomach issues and is also on supplements to help his anxiety. His fosterer has recently bought Rocko a crate in the hope of making him feel more secure. He seems to have taken to it well.
Rocko is also a rather chatty dog. He is quite a vocal lad who likes the sound of his own voice and likes to chat to you and bark to tell you that he wants something.
Despite his age Rocko loves walks and likes investigating things. This makes his recall unreliable, so he has on-lead walks. He pulls a little but then settles down and walks nicely at quite a fast pace. He is OK with other dogs but can be a bit funny with small dogs. He enjoys a 30-45 minute walk each morning and then he potters around the garden when he feels like it during the day. This seems to be enough for him as he snoozes happily after his walk.
Rocko’s fosterer has a horse so he is slowly getting used to this new experience and loves having a run around in our enclosed indoor school as it means he can have some time off the lead which he can’t get elsewhere.
Rocko’s favourite pastimes are snuggling with his human, snoozing, treats, and sunbathing.
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 Rocko, or one of the other special oldies we are caring for in our sponsor dog scheme.