Rocky is a little bit salty and a whole lotta sweet once you get to know him. He's had a pretty rough past, but generally has a positive outlook now that things are looking up for him. Rocky was found abandoned in a big city, emaciated, with patches of missing fur, and terrified every meal would be his last. He was so guarded and stressed at the shelter that no one bothered to try to get to know him and let him show that he's really a very sweet boy.
Rocky, at some point, also suffered some trauma to his spine and has similar symptoms to healed IVDD (please look this up if you aren't familiar. This is something that all Frenchies can go through, no matter how healthy they are, so adopters should be prepared to care for a dog with IVDD if they want to own a Frenchie). His back legs will wobble sometimes, and he'll always dribble a little bit of pee here and there. But he happily wears belly bands in his foster home, and is pretty proud of his karate belt collection. Rocky is currently living with another couple of (much bigger) bulldogs in his foster home and trust us...he can keep up with the best of them when it comes to bitey face and wrestling matches. But also, he loves laying in foster mom's lap and getting pet while he dozes off. We think he is truly relishing in the indoor life and feeling safe and loved.
Rocky's sad past has two major scars he's still getting over -- fear of starving to death and anxiety about being locked away in a cage alone. We recommend he eat in a separate area from other pets, if you have them, so he feels safe and secure. His foster has also diligently been working with him on trading him something tasty when she picks up his food bowl and he's been loving this. It's been a beautiful thing watching him learn to trust humans again and feel confident his needs will be met from now on. We'd also rather Rocky not be subjected to crating, if it can be avoided (baby gating him in a room when you need is perfect). And if this is a requirement for your home, our team can give you some advice on how to help him understand that a kennel is just another cozy nap spot.
