Please Help Rocky
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Meet Rocky
Before you meet Rocky, let me introduce you to the English Bull Terrier breed (affectionately known as the Bully).
The Bully is a tough, powerful breed that is also gentle and playful. An affectionate, loyal companion who's always ready to entertain you. He isn't content to spend long periods alone and always wants to be with his people doing what they're doing. He is one of the clowns of the dog world and has a larger-than-life personality earning the nickname “the kid in a dog suit”. One thing's for sure: life with the Bully will never be dull.
4 years ago, when we found the love of our life, we had no idea that the breeder was shut down once already due to numerous complaints associated with bad breeding. We found them under an assumed name. We've had rescued dogs throughout our lifetime but also always wanted a white English Bull Terrier like Bullseye the Target dog or Spuds Mackenzie or Chico from the Friday movies.
He quickly became a lover to everyone that met him. He is happiest as the center of attention and will do anything to achieve that status! We found out the hard way (ripped up furniture and car door panels, cabinets, beds, etc.) that Rocky suffers from separation anxiety and also car anxiety. He travels in a crate and goes to Camp Bow Wow in Middlesex, NJ, when we can’t find a dog sitter.
From day one, Camp Bow Wow employees found out just how special Rocky is and will sometimes use him to evaluate a new boarder. If a dog can’t get along with Rocky, they don’t board. We always joke he should be paid a salary.
Whenever Rocky leaves the house for a walk, go to a dog show, shopping, go down the Jersey shore, go to a carnival or fair, he is always asked for a selfie with someone. We can’t convince them that he is NOT the Target dog. But Rocky will accommodate and pose with them. He even marched (partially) in our town’s Labor Day parade with the NJ Lieutenant Governor (at the time) who was smitten with his charm.
Weekly, Rocky shops the PetSmart in Bridgewater, NJ. If you’ve seen the 1980’s TV series “Cheers”, you remember everyone yelling “NORRRRM” as the character Norm Peterson entered the bar. When Rocky arrivals, every PetSmart employee will greet him loudly with a “RO-CKYYY” and he eats it up!
For his veterinarian needs, we choose Banfield Animal Hospital (inside PetSmart) in Bridgewater, NJ, and pay $58.95 a month on pet insurance to help with the cost of office visits, shots, meds, procedures, etc. before we realized that Rocky had numerous issues due to poor breeding. Aside from being extremely caring, they also know Rocky very well and all will greet him by name upon his arrival.
This is WHY we are here today
When Rocky was young, we found out he has a heart murmur and 2 diseased heart valves, a very delicate GI track, food and environmental allergies, deformed paw pads due to Keratin overgrowth that will (at times) make it difficult for him to walk and must be removed periodically. He requires Apoquel daily for allergies ($65/month), annual ultrasounds of heart and valves, prescription food and constant visits for bouts with GI issues. Although very happy and playful, these conditions have left him weak at times and he requires a dog wagon while out in case he needs to rest.
On January 20, Rocky started experiencing diarrhea and vomiting. This is not unusual for Rocky and Banfield Animal Hospital ran blood work, tests, treated him for dehydration and sent Rocky home with meds.
On January 25, Rocky went back with more vomiting and collapsed from what appeared to be exhaustion. They ran more tests, medicated and re-hydrated him. But warned us that it may be Pancreatitis and if he vomits more through the night, he will need to go to the emergency hospital.
January 26, Rocky suddenly became critically ill with Pancreatitis, a severely painful and deadly disease for humans, cats and dogs. We rushed him to Crown Animal Hospital in Lebanon, NJ, for emergency treatment. We do not have health insurance outside of Banfield so all costs of care at Crown is out-of-pocket. After a week of treatments both with Banfield and Crown, Rocky’s health continued to decline. Every time he hurdles over a crisis, another one suddenly attacks and knocks him down.
January 31, Rocky started to rally and was doing better so the vet sent him home with tons of meds and he would have to visit the vet every day. Rocky didn’t make it through one day at home and had to be rushed back to Crown Animal Hospital. Now we are back to square one and Rocky will be there for at least another week or two. They found a lesion on his pancreas and also now believe that an immune-deficiency disease caused the Pancreatitis, not the other way around. This will require a completely different type of treatment.
Lifesaving Costs of Care
These costs are associated with Rocky’s care up to February 4 only and will double for the next week. When Rocky is stable enough for surgery to remove the lesion, it will triple.
Meds: $7,021 (also for Banfield $352)
Includes anti-nausea and anti-vomiting, anti-diarrhea, pain-killers, Plavix for blood clots, sedatives, anti-infection and anti-inflammatory, antacid, oxygen, etc.
Procedures: $8628 (also for Banfield $437)
Surgery with anesthesia to insert a temporary epidural and monitor for potential infection, EEG monitor, fluids, liquid protein mixed and shipped in from a specialty pharmacist, blood work, scans, catheters, steroids treatments and dedicated around the clock technicians
Radiology: $2,180
ultrasounds done daily to track progress of pancreas and x-rays to track progress of GI track
Hospital stay – daily stay fee (only): $1,463
Surgery: cost to be determined
You expect to pay for the quality of "care" at an emergency animal hospital. But we never expected for Rocky to receive the immeasurable quality of "caring" displayed by all the vets and techs at Crown Animal Hospital. Although the odds seem to be against Rocky if you know Bully’s, they are extremely stubborn which works in Rocky’s favor in helping him fight for his life.
To support Rocky’s (hopeful) recovery, he is going to require around the clock at-home care, physical therapy, equipment, prescription food and meds. There is now a strong possibility that Pancreatitis will leave him with Diabetes and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. And once it happens no matter what caused it, Pancreatitis usually will reoccur throughout the lifetime.
We are a blue collar, hard-working family with modest income (not rich but happy). We have maxed out our credit cards and pretty much cleared out our bank account, living on pay check to pay check now. We always donate when we can and never pass up a donation can. We now need help for our sweet boy, Rocky, and we never thought in our wildest dreams that we would be here today depending on the kindness of others.
This is a lot to ask and we are very thankful for even a one-dollar donation. We thank you for your time in reading this and for your love and support. We will pay it forward as all donations left over from Rocky’s medical bills, supplies, therapy, surgery, treatments and meds will be donated to the rescue and care of homeless dogs and cats.
Whether he decides to stay with us a little longer or cross over the rainbow bridge, we have no regrets in choosing Rocky 4 years ago. He has filled our lives with comedy, love and adventure. Rocky is unforgettable to everyone that’s ever had the pleasure to meet him. We will always love you boo boo!
Before you meet Rocky, let me introduce you to the English Bull Terrier breed (affectionately known as the Bully).
The Bully is a tough, powerful breed that is also gentle and playful. An affectionate, loyal companion who's always ready to entertain you. He isn't content to spend long periods alone and always wants to be with his people doing what they're doing. He is one of the clowns of the dog world and has a larger-than-life personality earning the nickname “the kid in a dog suit”. One thing's for sure: life with the Bully will never be dull.
4 years ago, when we found the love of our life, we had no idea that the breeder was shut down once already due to numerous complaints associated with bad breeding. We found them under an assumed name. We've had rescued dogs throughout our lifetime but also always wanted a white English Bull Terrier like Bullseye the Target dog or Spuds Mackenzie or Chico from the Friday movies.
He quickly became a lover to everyone that met him. He is happiest as the center of attention and will do anything to achieve that status! We found out the hard way (ripped up furniture and car door panels, cabinets, beds, etc.) that Rocky suffers from separation anxiety and also car anxiety. He travels in a crate and goes to Camp Bow Wow in Middlesex, NJ, when we can’t find a dog sitter.
From day one, Camp Bow Wow employees found out just how special Rocky is and will sometimes use him to evaluate a new boarder. If a dog can’t get along with Rocky, they don’t board. We always joke he should be paid a salary.
Whenever Rocky leaves the house for a walk, go to a dog show, shopping, go down the Jersey shore, go to a carnival or fair, he is always asked for a selfie with someone. We can’t convince them that he is NOT the Target dog. But Rocky will accommodate and pose with them. He even marched (partially) in our town’s Labor Day parade with the NJ Lieutenant Governor (at the time) who was smitten with his charm.
Weekly, Rocky shops the PetSmart in Bridgewater, NJ. If you’ve seen the 1980’s TV series “Cheers”, you remember everyone yelling “NORRRRM” as the character Norm Peterson entered the bar. When Rocky arrivals, every PetSmart employee will greet him loudly with a “RO-CKYYY” and he eats it up!
For his veterinarian needs, we choose Banfield Animal Hospital (inside PetSmart) in Bridgewater, NJ, and pay $58.95 a month on pet insurance to help with the cost of office visits, shots, meds, procedures, etc. before we realized that Rocky had numerous issues due to poor breeding. Aside from being extremely caring, they also know Rocky very well and all will greet him by name upon his arrival.
This is WHY we are here today
When Rocky was young, we found out he has a heart murmur and 2 diseased heart valves, a very delicate GI track, food and environmental allergies, deformed paw pads due to Keratin overgrowth that will (at times) make it difficult for him to walk and must be removed periodically. He requires Apoquel daily for allergies ($65/month), annual ultrasounds of heart and valves, prescription food and constant visits for bouts with GI issues. Although very happy and playful, these conditions have left him weak at times and he requires a dog wagon while out in case he needs to rest.
On January 20, Rocky started experiencing diarrhea and vomiting. This is not unusual for Rocky and Banfield Animal Hospital ran blood work, tests, treated him for dehydration and sent Rocky home with meds.
On January 25, Rocky went back with more vomiting and collapsed from what appeared to be exhaustion. They ran more tests, medicated and re-hydrated him. But warned us that it may be Pancreatitis and if he vomits more through the night, he will need to go to the emergency hospital.
January 26, Rocky suddenly became critically ill with Pancreatitis, a severely painful and deadly disease for humans, cats and dogs. We rushed him to Crown Animal Hospital in Lebanon, NJ, for emergency treatment. We do not have health insurance outside of Banfield so all costs of care at Crown is out-of-pocket. After a week of treatments both with Banfield and Crown, Rocky’s health continued to decline. Every time he hurdles over a crisis, another one suddenly attacks and knocks him down.
January 31, Rocky started to rally and was doing better so the vet sent him home with tons of meds and he would have to visit the vet every day. Rocky didn’t make it through one day at home and had to be rushed back to Crown Animal Hospital. Now we are back to square one and Rocky will be there for at least another week or two. They found a lesion on his pancreas and also now believe that an immune-deficiency disease caused the Pancreatitis, not the other way around. This will require a completely different type of treatment.
Lifesaving Costs of Care
These costs are associated with Rocky’s care up to February 4 only and will double for the next week. When Rocky is stable enough for surgery to remove the lesion, it will triple.
Meds: $7,021 (also for Banfield $352)
Includes anti-nausea and anti-vomiting, anti-diarrhea, pain-killers, Plavix for blood clots, sedatives, anti-infection and anti-inflammatory, antacid, oxygen, etc.
Procedures: $8628 (also for Banfield $437)
Surgery with anesthesia to insert a temporary epidural and monitor for potential infection, EEG monitor, fluids, liquid protein mixed and shipped in from a specialty pharmacist, blood work, scans, catheters, steroids treatments and dedicated around the clock technicians
Radiology: $2,180
ultrasounds done daily to track progress of pancreas and x-rays to track progress of GI track
Hospital stay – daily stay fee (only): $1,463
Surgery: cost to be determined
You expect to pay for the quality of "care" at an emergency animal hospital. But we never expected for Rocky to receive the immeasurable quality of "caring" displayed by all the vets and techs at Crown Animal Hospital. Although the odds seem to be against Rocky if you know Bully’s, they are extremely stubborn which works in Rocky’s favor in helping him fight for his life.
To support Rocky’s (hopeful) recovery, he is going to require around the clock at-home care, physical therapy, equipment, prescription food and meds. There is now a strong possibility that Pancreatitis will leave him with Diabetes and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. And once it happens no matter what caused it, Pancreatitis usually will reoccur throughout the lifetime.
We are a blue collar, hard-working family with modest income (not rich but happy). We have maxed out our credit cards and pretty much cleared out our bank account, living on pay check to pay check now. We always donate when we can and never pass up a donation can. We now need help for our sweet boy, Rocky, and we never thought in our wildest dreams that we would be here today depending on the kindness of others.
This is a lot to ask and we are very thankful for even a one-dollar donation. We thank you for your time in reading this and for your love and support. We will pay it forward as all donations left over from Rocky’s medical bills, supplies, therapy, surgery, treatments and meds will be donated to the rescue and care of homeless dogs and cats.
Whether he decides to stay with us a little longer or cross over the rainbow bridge, we have no regrets in choosing Rocky 4 years ago. He has filled our lives with comedy, love and adventure. Rocky is unforgettable to everyone that’s ever had the pleasure to meet him. We will always love you boo boo!
Organizer
Frank Acee
Organizer
South Plainfield, NJ
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