After years of taking the piss out of me for my membership of the SDMB, my dear wife joined her own messageboard recently, and has become hooked. It’s an Irish animal welfare board, and because of it, tonight we’re in temporary charge of a young boxer called Rocky.
Rocky was the runt of his litter, and was abandoned by his owners while in his own family home. This involved total denial of food, while his human owners hoped he’d just die. Eventually, a tiny emaciated puppy made of nothing but skin and bones, he was rescued by a shelter.
After just a few weeks in the shelter, he was stolen from it, together with other puppies, by a dogfighting ring.
They were used as bait. Puppies, tied to a stick, while fully-grown bull mastiffs, pit bulls, and terriers were set upon them and trained to kill, using Rocky and his shelter-mates as bite-bags.
After another few weeks, the ring was broken up, and those puppies that hadn’t died were returned to the shelter. Rocky was emaciated again, but now covered with deep bites and lesions, and in possession of a serious digestive disorder.
He’s three months old, skinny as a whip, ribs showing through his chest, and on high-protein and high-fat food to try to build him up. He’s also pedigree as hell, which means he’s got big slobbery jowels and respiratory problems, and he stinks.
He’s adorable, and I cannot understand the psychopathic mindset that could possibly use an animal as clearly intelligent and emotional as Rocky.
He’s off to an adoptive family in Cork soon, who will love him for the rest of his life, I hope. This poor little bastard is now lying on our sofa, cuddled up to mrs jjimm, and despite his horrific upbringing affectionate as hell. In Irish venacular, “he’s an absolute dote”. 