ROCKET - THE LITTLE DOG THAT COULD

Rocket was sent to us from a rescue in Michigan where he had been hit by a car and lost his leg. Once he arrived in L.A., he was noticed by"Hollywood" and began his career as a "movie dog" appearing in commercials and TV. Handicapped, HUH! He was now being sought after because of his tripod appearance. Now on his way to becoming a certified therapy dog, at the age of 10 years, he has no intention of slowing down. Rocket has alot of good memories here with us at Villalobos and so many more to come. He has acquired quite the fan club as his list of "personal dog walkers" flock to meet him. One of those came this past Fall when 50 Marines from Camp Pendleton and volunteered for the day to walk our dogs. One Marine in particular named "Cassilee" had never walked, touched or been near a "Pit Bull". He was apprehensive so we brought out "The Rocket". If ever there was a dog that could convince the skeptic, it was the cow patched, hop a long, Pit mix (named after his talent for still trying to jump 6 foot fences)who despite his missing limb had the most optimistic outlook on life. After a long walk down the desert dirt road, Cassilee and Rocket returned but this Marine had a new attitude. He came back with an ear to ear grin and couldn't stop talking about his new friend. Rocket had managed to convince the man who defended our country, that he as the most controversial breed of dog in the world, needed defending too. Cassilee couldn't agree more and told all of his fellow Marines what a great dog Rocket was and that he never thought a "Pit Bull" could be so nice and despite his "handicap", he wanted to give him a new name, a name that he felt defined the time he and Rocket shared together. He said, "I want to call him KEBEKOL. It means the fastest one in my language"(Cassilee is from the Island of Palau near the country of Guam) He felt despite all of Rocket's hurdles in life and "handicaps" that he could still keep up with the rest of the world and that was deserving of a cool title. We couldn't agree more.