Giving Rocky a fighting chance

Goal edited see below *EDIT*

Our story

Hi my name is Danny and I am creating a fundraising campaign for Rocky the bull terrier, also known as Rocky the Traveller.

Rocky the bull terrier entered into my life in late 2008 and he was a handful. But I loved Rocky from the moment I met him, he was so tiny that I was able to carry him with one hand despite his big head. But he soon grew up to become a big strong bull terrier who would accompany me everywhere I went to and has been such a big part of my life and has touched many other lives as well.

But now in his senior years, Rocky needs me more than ever.

Rocky has been diagnosed with a heart tumour. His treatments will be expensive and frequent. While he was initially given a bleak timeframe, a visit to another clinic has been more positive and we are treating him with chemo and other recommended medicine to help him with his quality of life and for him to be with us for longer.

Rocky's unexpected diagnosis and multiple emergency room visits have cost us thousands already. While we had money saved for vet emergencies, we never imagined he would be diagnosed with such a serious illness and the treatment costs will further reach in the thousands.

A bit about Rocky. Rocky loves brain games. Anything with food, he's in. He also likes to shake up toys and move them around looking for food. He loves to chew. He likes animals and is curious about meeting cats and tortoises. He loves to cool down in the beach, but no waves for him. He always follows me around and he likes to be comfortable. He joins us for dinner by sitting at our feet and hoping for some scraps. He likes the sun and he used to be known as one of the more well-traveled dogs in the world.

We made many different moves throughout the year but our biggest one was in the UK where he then travelled around Europe with me. He loves going to pubs and making new friends and stuffing his head down any bag to search for food. We've travelled across Europe during his more active years. I've met friends because of him and I've grown to become the person I am because of him. I owe him more than I ever can ever pay back.

In the last year we decided to visit our family in Florida for him to spend some more time with them as he gets on his senior years.

Sadly he had an emergency in early August due to vomiting and diarrhoea and after a few different vet appointments, he was diagnosed with the heart tumour, known as HSA (hemangiosarcoma), a devastating diagnosis.

But there's a reason his name is Rocky, he's a born fighter.

Rocky has been an inspiration to many via his social media accounts and his adventures during his earlier years. The last few years he's showed off his goofiness with more comedic videos which highlight how unique and how much of a clown he is. He likes to do things his own way and only walks in the direction he wants to walk in. He also loves to stick his nose into everything including bags. He makes everyone smile wherever he goes just by being himself.

We hope for more of these moments, he's been there for me and I want to fight this disease with all the energy that I can and with your help we can. Let's give Rocky a fighting chance.

*EDIT* We started a Waggle campaign that goes directly to the vets, but there were fees so we closed it early and moved the balance here to avoid fees. The cost for his treatments and medicine run further than the $200 raised there so we began this campaign to supplement the Waggle one.

As of now he's still enjoying life, playing with toys, eating his food (he's on a special diet to optimise treatments) and enjoys his wagon rides and small walks.

The hope is that the treatments work and the tumour can shrink and we can wean him off some of his medication and he can have more time.

We believe in you Rocky!