When my parents first saw Rocco’s photo, they did a double take. Who is that handsome boy? Could he be related to our Jerry?
We share a lot of the same loves. Swimming, chewing up sticks, and living life with gusto on three legs. Here’s Rocco’s inspawrational story . . .
Rocco was born in July, 1999. His Mom Cathy says, “We live in Leavenworth, Washington, where we get lots of snow, he enjoys that as well. He likes carrying huge chunks of snow around, and burying things in the snow.”
Rocco enjoys swimming, running, jumping, playing “chuck-it,” and he likes to tease. He especially enjoys it when Mom and Dad are together in the same room just kicking back.
“He still has the mind of a teenager and is full of life,” says Cathy.
“Rocco is actually too intelligent,” his Mom says. “Sometimes we feel inferior to his thinking. He tries so much to communicate his wants and feelings and we really have to stop, listen, think and review the situation.”
He was diagnosed in April of this year with bone cancer.
Cathy says “At first, we thought he had just wrenched his shoulder. Upon taking him to our local vet, we received the punch in the stomach news that he has hemangiosarcoma. We immediately went to Washington State University, and commuted the 8-hour round trip for each treatment. They have been wonderful.”
Right from the start he had to have a splenectomy, had a biopsy for his shoulder, then began radiation, chemo, then his leg with the tumor broke, simply due to the bone being weakened. Following the break he had an amputation in early summer, and has been doing great.
