Rocky – The Survivor – $1 challenge!

  • US$121.00
    raised of $251.00 goal goal
48% Funded
10 Donors
Raised offline: $3,000.00
Total: $3,121.00
Help this ongoing fundraising campaign by making a donation and spreading the word.
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Dogs living on a chain will spend their whole life and die on that chain if we don’t help them.


We’re humbly asking many people to donate 1US $ in order to Together save this beautiful dogfamily that have never known love from humans.

To donate through Pay Pal instead: please go here: paypal.me/rockythesurvivor

To see updated videos of Rocky - please visit his Swedish’ brother Toros’ Instagram - #by.toro.chihuahua

Hi!

We met Rocky and his family during our vacation in The Dominican Republic when having a meal in a tourist filled restaurant at Playa Rincón, where he and his girlfriend were tied/chained up in the backyard. We realized they needed help.

To begin with Rocky had an open wound - and still has, but it has now started to heal - on his hip and both him and the female were plagued by fleas. Together they had four or five small puppies and both the adult dogs were severely malnourished.

The dogs were held by the restaurant staff after he by his former owner had been thrown away like trash when retiring from a life as a fighter.

The marks you see all over his face are scars - reminiscences of violence. And so is his half cauliflower-ear, worn off in one of the many cruel dogfights that Rocky was forced to by people cheering while dogs died in the ring. Rocky also has a deep scar around his neck, caused by being leashed way too tight.

We immediately e-mailed the animal welfare organizations Hacienda Urbana and Rescued By Love, and were impressed how fast they acted!

Within the hour we were What’s App-ing with Dr Joey Zulty for Geovets - an American veterinarian who with his family go volunteering to help animals all over the world, to wherever they are most needed.

The next day we met up with Joey and his wife, got some antibiotics and guidance on how to treat Rocky’s wound and Topical Revolution to treat mange and fleas in both dogs. We then went back to see Rocky again.

Rocky had me the moment I saw the pit he had dug in the ground to sleep a bit more comfortably and where he spent most of his time. He seemed to have lost all his zest for life, solely waiting for death to take him home.

It was clear that of these dogs, Rocky was the one least likely to be adopted - as the reputation of the aggressive pit/bull/terrier/mix is widely spread. But we couldn’t just leave him sitting there in his dirt hole, slowly starving to death.

So the second time we visited him, we brought him with us - adamant on giving him a good life. He was now family.

When we were to get him in the car that first day he didn’t have enough strength to jump in himself and I - who had my own prejudices about pitbulls, felt a bit intimidated by him (thinking of that today makes me laugh out loud) but had to help him in and sit together with him in the backseat.

Rocky was too weak to balance his skinny body and fell every time the car turned. Now, he’s luckily not a fragile little Chihuahua, and wasn’t hurt, but my heart sank at the sight of this brave guy who at ideal weight and health would have been as strong and fit as a small lion.

Im pretty sure Rocky knew I felt insecure around him. Suddenly he looked straight into my eyes and kept his gaze on me for a long time. I saw in him endless sadness, fatigue, and... - to my surprise - ...Love...

My fear ran out of me and I made the decision to love him back, unconditionally, and to make him feel safe, even despite all the lice and ticks that crawled around in his fur or the fact that we weren’t sure he didn’t have Rabies. I trusted the Universe would not let me get sick while saving the life on one of earth’s finest masterpieces (it's hardly a coincidence that “Dog” is “God” backwards, do you think?)

Rocky has stayed with us and traveled with us since we met him, and it took him no more than 48 hours to make us fall neck over head in love with him as we soon realized Rocky is everything opposite the current pit bull reputation. Being extremely affectionate, sweet and submissive to all people, including kids you would never believe he used to fight for his everyday life.

He got his joie de vivre back in less than a week, and is now daily rolling around on his back in wild happiness. He is getting a lot stronger and 10 days after we picked him up he jumped in the car with ease. Rocky is the most grateful soul I’ve ever met and enjoys just spending time with people.

Rocky has been used and abused all his life - it’s about time he get to experience how beautiful this world and being ALIVE can be.

We promised him he will never be maltreated again and decided to bring him home with us to become a Swedish citizen - loved and pampered forever more.

The process is long and expensive, though. To give Rocky and his family all they need, we’re now humbly asking for help and grateful for whatever you can spare.

We are soon leaving to go back to Sweden, and have paid the first month for a spot at Hacienda Urbana, recommended by Joey from Geovets to be the best veterinarian in the country.

They will give him love, daily walks, medical examinations, medicine, vaccines, human cuddles, a safe and secure place to stay, healthy food, clean water, possibilities to play and to socialize with other dogs.

They will also prepare all his papers, certificates, passport and everything else he needs to in 4 months be allowed into Sweden.

Rocky’s girlfriend, the beautiful black female is also very affectionate and cuddly and she is chained up, not being able to take free walks or move around the way she would probably want to. Her life begun and will end on that chain. People around lift her puppies away from her from time to time to show them up, and she cries in agony, not being able to care for them or protect them. It’s heartbreaking. 💔

Your donations will help with:

  • A safe place for Rocky to stay the upcoming 4 months, where he’ll be medically examined, get medical treatment, taken on daily walks, be cuddled with, getting vaccines and having blood samples taken, get possible surgery, good food, pure water, all his documents in order and the possibility to play and socialize with other dogs
  • One ticket back to the Dominican - as Sweden doesn’t accept that Rocky travels alone, one of us needs to go get him.
  • Rocky’s ticket - including a cage - to fly from the Dominican Republic to Sweden.
  • Hiring a trustworthy veterinarian in the Dominican to go to Samaná and rescue Rocky’s family, give them medical care and find them loving foster homes.

We think Rocky is worth a second chance and that his girl and their puppies are worth the best life they can ever have.

We hope that you do too.

Thank you for taking the time reading.


Best regards,

Mariah, Claudio, Toro (our Chihuahua boy) & Rocky


To donate via Pay Pal, please follow this link: paypal.me/rockythesurvivor


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3 Backers

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Organizer

Animal Lover & professional Actress

Animal Lover & professional Actress

Donors

  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Jan 31, 2020
Amount Hidden
  • Britt-Marie Eriksson
  • Donated on Jan 28, 2020
$10.00
  • Pernilla Olsson
  • Donated on Jan 27, 2020
$10.00
Feb 01

Wonderful news!

Update posted by Mariah Kanninen at 12:54 pm

Hello! Just wanted to tell you that we started a fundraiser together with Toro’s Agency ‘Petit Banana PR (our Chihuahua actually has an Agent! 😀) and the animal sanctuary Gotlands Djurfristad here in Sweden, and raised about 3000USD within 24 hours! I cried my eyes out for Rocky once again. . . . .

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0
Jan 23

We went home to Sweden

Update posted by Mariah Kanninen at 07:32 pm

Hi guys and many thanks for your generous donations, we are very grateful. ❤️We went back to Sweden today and Rocky is well cared for at Hacienda Urbana in Santiago, until we go back in The Dominican Republic in 4 months to pick him up. Before we left we also. . . . .

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0
Jan 20

Pay pal short link

Update posted by Mariah Kanninen at 06:45 am

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my/profile

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0

Donors & Comments

10 donors
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Jan 31, 2020
Amount Hidden
  • Britt-Marie Eriksson
  • Donated on Jan 28, 2020
$10.00
  • Pernilla Olsson
  • Donated on Jan 27, 2020
$10.00
  • Magdalena Kanninen
  • Donated on Jan 23, 2020
$9.00
$10.00
  • Zhenya Knysh
  • Donated on Jan 21, 2020
  • People who rescue animals deserve so much ! Thank you for being so kind ! ❤️🐶

$50.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Jan 21, 2020
  • You have a big heart ! You spent a lot of time during you holidays to save him ! You are his angel !

Amount Hidden
  • Christer Olsson
  • Donated on Jan 21, 2020
$10.00
  • Claudio Pino
  • Donated on Jan 20, 2020
$10.00
$1.00
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US$121.00
raised of $251.00 goal
48% Funded
10 Donors
Raised offline: $3,000.00
Total: $3,121.00

Help this ongoing fundraising campaign by making a donation and spreading the word.

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