Veteran Dog Needs Immediate Help

Pets for Patriots

UPDATE 8/18/11 9:25 AM ET: ROCKY IS SAVED! We have been informed that Rocky will be adopted. Please DO NOT CALL Camp Pendleton, Lackland AFB or Pets for Patriots regarding his case; we are all overloaded with a deluge of inquiries about his plight. THANK YOU to all who have answered Rocky’s call and helped to assure his final years will be spent with a loving family.

Rocky is a retired military dog who will be put down on August 24 if he's not adopted. He served three tours in Iraq and desperately needs a loving home to enjoy his final years. Pets for Patriots is responding to a request to help create awareness of this veteran's plight. We have spoken to authorities at Camp Pendleton and confirmed this story.

Rocky currently lives at Camp Pendleton, his home base since entering the Marine Corps in 2004. He served three tours in Iraq between 2004 and 2007 as a patrol and explosives dog, and returned to the states after his last handler was killed in theater. Since then, he has not had a steady handler, but has continued to serve on base until March of this year. By that time, a degenerative condition rendered him unable to work and he was retired. Typically an ex-military K9 will be adopted by his handler, but Rocky has no handler to call his own. 

The base kennels are not suitable to provide the type of ongoing care and attention that Rocky needs and deserves. And without an individual or family to adopt him, he will be put down. He was recently featured in an article about military dogs enjoying a bright future after service, but that's not the case for him.

Like most military working dogs, Rocky is independent, but he has a sweet temperament and enjoys relaxing in the sun. As a result of his disability, he uses a canine wheelchair and needs assistance to do "his business." He would do best in a family that can devote a lot of time to him, and that has no small children or other animals. More than anything, Rocky needs someone who honors his service, and who will love and accept him.

Rocky's known medical conditions:

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Enlarged prostate
Mild hip dysplasia L coxofemoral joint, grade I
Bilateral coxofemoral DJD (mild)
Bilateral neurologic defecits rear legs – degenerative myelopathy
Pressure/kennel sores

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About Pets for Patriots
Pets for Patriots, Inc., is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that helps service and veteran members of the United States military honorably adopt adult and at-risk shelter pets. Its mission is to consistently give the gifts of fidelity, joy and companionship to both pet and person.  Pets for Patriots is one of the only organizations in the country dedicated to both homeless pets and military personnel at any stage of their careers and from all armed forces. The charity is a proud member of the Army AW2 Wounded Warrior Program national community support network, a national partner of the Real Warriors Campaign and is listed by the National Resource Directory for ill and wounded veterans. Visit Pets for Patriots online today and Be A Pet's Hero(TM).

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