Cayuga Dog Rescue ~ Rocket

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Rocket

By Zev, Age 12
July 22, 2007
Updated (1st time) on November 12, 2007

Chapter 1 Meeting Rocket

We got Rocket in January of 2007 from the Cayuga Dog Rescue. At the time there were 9 yellow lab mix puppies. They were adorable! We picked Rocket out of the litter because she was so cute, playful, and friendly.

When we left Rocket was so excited, she was finally going home! She was a little bit scared of her first car ride since it was new but she quickly got accustomed to it. We arrived home and took her for a walk around the house on a leash then around outside and everywhere else she could go. She LOVED it.

Chapter 2 At Home

Rocket enjoyed her first few days here but she hadn’t experienced everything until she met Stumpy our cat… Stumpy had been Queen of the house but Rocket took that job off her hands. Now they sometimes play together, however usually Stumpy keeps to herself. Dogs just are not dignified like cats…

This was Rocket’s dream home; toys, food, and loving people, what else could possibly need?! Well, we needed her to learn some stuff, like basic commands such as sit and stay. Let’s just say that Rocket wasn’t exactly a "fast learner".

Chapter 3 Rockets 3rd-4th months and Potty Training

We kept training her to sit and stay but she just didn’t completely get it. However we found two soft spots, Milk Bones and Rawhides. She enjoyed them a lot. And like any animal, if you have a good food; they do what you ask…

We never managed to teach Rocket to go to the bathroom on paper. Once the winter was a little less fierce she got used to just going outside.

Rocket was sent outside whenever she made a bathroom mistake. She soon learned that she needed to keep it in or let us know when she had to go to the bathroom. This took a little while because it was such a cold winter for a small little dog… But she learned!

Chapter 4 how she got her name Months 4-5

It took us 3 months to find a fitting name for Rocket. We thought of both funny and silly names such as Spigot which was just not fitting after she had been potty trained… We finally named her Rocket because she could jump straight up to more than 4 feet and was an incredibly fast runner.

Today; Month 6 and later

It’s amazing how much changes in a dog’s life during the fifth and sixth months, and how many cute things you would see.... She was so adorable when she bounded around in the snow drifts, disappearing behind one then reappearing with her ears flapping. However, she had to learn to calm down and not jump on people.

She loves to meet new people and now has a new best friend, a two year old Yellow Lab named Blue, however meeting dogs can be…….interesting… Yes they are best friends but what comes with friendship? Little tricks maybe things like drinking from toilets…

* * *
Rocket has a liking for new commands; that is as long as she gets her favorite people food…..which is only given as a treat… Bananas. Rocket does anything for them, sit, stay, backup, beg etc. ANYTHING! Well, almost…we’re still working on "roll over".

* * *
At about 6 months Rocket got spayed. We were worried about the surgery but the vet helped us all feel better. And now Rocket is happy since she can play with new dog friends even if their owners didn’t get them neutered.

After 2 weeks we got Rocket’s stitches removed and put on her first application of flea/tick medicine. We will enjoy and cherish her for life!
To our perfect lovable dog, Rocket:

UPDATE:
Now, Month 12

Rocket has been doing great! She now has completely lived up to her name by learning the command "jump"! She has also mastered "sit" and "drop". Rocket has been better about letting us know when she needed to go. She loves to sleep with me (especially on my bed!), after all nothing can beat sleeping with her "person"!
She has an assortment of toys she likes. We gave her a doll when we first got her and she still has it! Dogs seem to hold onto some of their most precious items for a very long time! About two weeks ago we got her a bone and she loves to gnaw on it. However nothing beats her favorite people food which is still bananas….

BIRTHDAY! As of the day we wrote this update Rocket turned 1 person year old!!!!