To put comprehensive research into a topic that not only fascinates and excites me, but one that I hold dear to my heart; dogs.

As Rocky's "human," I felt the need to develop a site that would better educate dog owners. Rocky was my first real responsibility and having him enter my life has been an experience like no other; I am so blessed. For me, one of my challenges has been 'not knowing.' There is so much unspoken information pertaining to dogs, and the internet is a great resource to find that information. It is now my mission to bring all of that information to one easily accessible platform. 

I have always loved animals, my connection to them has always been undeniable. I find myself drawn to the love and warmth of a whole-hearted being, and I believe that is the existence of the animals we care for.

When I was 10 my mom brought home a beautiful, smart, playful, and loyal Golden Retriever for me to love; Ralph. Ralph was my best friend. At the time, I of course was too young to care for him without the help of my mother, and was oblivious to anything other than play time; she was his caretaker, and I was his friend. Ralph lived a very happy life; we cherished him dearly.

When I was 24, I found myself in a pet store purchasing food for a friends dog. It was in that store that I witnessed beautiful puppies crammed into a tiny window display. There must have been 7 or 8 dogs in that small box, with the filthiest conditions you could imagine. In the corner I saw a tiny patch of black fur, getting trampled on by the other dogs. My heart sank, and I immediately asked the store owner to see that dog in the adoption room. My only intention at the time was to give him a bit of fresh air and some space...I didn't expect to take him home with me. He stood behind a thin metal chair leg in one corner of the room, shaking, as I was across the room in the opposite corner; on my hands and knees, I was calling him to come over. He was too afraid to move, so I tried calling out a few names to gauge his interest: "Buddy, little guy, mister, fighter..." Whatever I could think of; nothing worked. Being the fighter that he clearly was, I called out "Mr. Rocky Balboa, come here". (Yes, this was inspired by the SNL 'Dog Show' sketch) But, just like that, he darted over to me and placed his head at the peak of my knees, something he still does to this very day. Instantly, and without a doubt, I fell for him and knew I couldn't leave that store without him.

The owner of the store did not disclose that he had a conditional congenital illness, nor that he was the runt of his litter, and from a puppy mill based out of Montreal, QC. And I'm sure you know what 'coming from a puppy mill' means...A lifetime battle. As you can read about in the 'Rocky' section, issue after issue kept arising from 10 months and onward. With each diagnosis, every type of medication, medicated diets, false diagnoses, and each visit to the vet, I made it my mission to research the heck out of everything we went through... and then some. I take time to read every post, book, blog, and informative site I can find, on topics that haven't even impacted my little guy. I want to learn as much as I can and advise those in need of advice to the best of my capabilities, with the odd fluff article for good measure! I often pick the brains of Rocky's vets and surgeons to get their take on what's going on. And I seek and encourage others in this professional field to write articles for the site, or ask to share ones they have published on theirs.

I take such pride in being a dog mom, and I only hope our hardships and copious amounts of research will benefit or impact our readers in a positive way.

Thank you for reading,

Amanda (Rocky's mom)