Giving up on the Rocky Search....

.... ONLY BECAUSE I AM WATCHING HIM PRANCE AROUND WITH HIS BONE ALL MUNN-LIKE HERE AT HOME WHERE HE BELONGS!!!

Yes, this would be the blog post I'm sure you all have been waiting for.

After 36 days and 12 hours, Rocky has finally completed his journey and returned home to me. First off, I want to thank the entire Shinstock family who were the ones who notified me of Rocky's whereabouts today while I was flyering at Petco. The irony is not lost on me of the Stockomunn being found by the Shinstock family. Beth Shinstock called me today and notified me that Rocky had been hanging out near her and a few neighbors houses in Annandale for about a week. He wouldn't go allow anyone to go near him, but Rocky had made himself quite welcome in their neighborhood apparently. Her daughter, Maddie, was finally able to get Rocky to come close enough to her to give him food and over time, this obviously brilliant young girl was able to get Rocky's phone number off of his collar. I drove over to their address where I found Chris and future Steelers WR Hunter Shinstock enjoying a father son football toss and catch. I got out of the car and asked them if Rocky was still nearby. Chris pointed at his neighbor's driveway and said "Yes - he's sleeping on that driveway over there."

This dog, on the run for so long - that so many have spent countless hours trying to find was SLEEPING ON A DRIVEWAY IN ANNANDALE!!! I walked to the driveway with a leash, cheese, and treats... turned out I probably didn't need any of it. I called his name, and he lifted up his head and got up. He was a little disoriented at first and barked a couple times. I then said "Rocky, come here baby..." and he looked at me, let it register for a second, then put his ears back and came right to me. He was full of kisses for his daddy - as was I for him. I put the leash on him and about a minute later he walked over to my car to get in like we were just at the park or something. We got home about an hour ago, and he's eaten a bit, drank some water, played chase with me with his bone, and now is passed out sleeping on my couch.

He is very thin. But besides a few scratches on his nose and face, he looks very healthy. He doesn't smell very good, but I'm OK with that. He has been whimpering a bit, but from what I can tell, it just seems that's because he's happy to be home or perhaps he is trying to tell me of the adventures of the last 5+ weeks. I'll post some pictures of him a little later today.

I'm going to try and thank everyone. Please forgive me if I missed your name. Know that I appreciate the efforts that everyone has given to helping Rocky find his way home since January 3rd:
Kate
Sonia
Mac
Trish
Jenny
Josh
Kirsten
Eugenia
Jason
Leslie
Nancy
Daphne
Becky
Brad
Erika
Neena
Katie
Shana
Donna
Suzanne
Natalia
Linda
Alexa
Jennifer
Liza
Mike
Jeff
Charlie
Lisa
Laura
Debbie
Edith
Jo
Darci
Annie
Elizabeth
Melissa
Alex
Tara
Ellen
David
Ashley
Erin
Jim
Paula
Robin
Cary
Christina
Irene
Dallas
Anna
Jay
Lindsay
Erika
Mary Ann
Gail

Thanks to everyone who offered their support to me. Without your support and love for Rocky and the time the above people took to help find him, I'm certain I would not have made it through one week, let alone 5 weeks without him.

But he's here. He's Home. My baby is home. Finally.

Special thanks to Jessika for coming out last week while I could not be available.

And an extra special thanks to the Shinstock family - Rocky and I will be forever in your debt for reuniting us. This is the happiest day of my life. Thank You. Oh and Rocky says "WOOF!" and wants to give a "barkout" to Maddie.

Time to get reacquainted with my best friend. And maybe figure out a way to get these tears to stop falling from my eyes. We love you all,
Rocky's Dad and Rocky :)