‘Special little guy’: Abused dog ‘Rocky’ finds forever home
CHICAGO — Rocky, the abused dog found with broken bones at an Edgewater park, has found his forever home.
Rocky was abandoned last month at Berger Park in Edgewater.
Brianne Coleman was walking at the park with her dog Zeus and found him curled up between the rocks. He was unable to walk due to a shattered hip and other injuries.
“His back legs were dangling — I knew something was broke and I thought he was paralyzed,” she said.
Two veterinarians concluded that Rocky had been a victim of a “long pattern of abuse” due to broken knees and ribs that have since healed.
After posting Rocky to various Facebook groups, Richard Heath, of Chicago, stepped up and began caring for the dog and took him to continuous rehab visits.
But it wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of the community. Over $21,000 was raised to support Rocky’s road to recovery.
Faced with a real threat to lose his left back leg, Rocky has built up enough strength through physical therapy that he’s able to go down stairs and up some of them. He’s found his voice too.
“He was silent for quite awhile, but in that last couple of weeks he barks his head off,” Heath said. “Not to the point where it’s a disturbance. He’s finding his voice and barked at us if he wanted something.”
After over a month with the Heaths and their Labrador Islay, Rocky is as happy as can be to find his forever home.
Mike and Pat, of Chicago, adopted Rocky on Monday.
Previous: ‘So gentle and sweet’: Abused dog found abandoned at Edgewater park
“He really is a special little guy,” Pat told WGN News. “My husband is always so practical and now he is like ‘how my guy today?'”
Just like with Islay, Mike and Pat have a 6-year-old dog to spend time with the young pup too.
They said Rocky has become a bit of a celebrity in the community and is getting noticed on walks.
“The community support has been incredible,” Pat said. “People have gone up and say ‘is that the little dog that was found?'”
With thousands of dollars donated, Rocky will continue physical therapy twice a week for the next couple of months to get stronger.
A community party is being planned later this summer for the dog that survived horrific abuse and persevered.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
