Shelter Dog Rescued Within Minutes of Euthanasia Still Looking for His Forever Home

Gabrielle LaFrank |

Mar 8, 2024

Not all dogs get the same supportive start in life, but a rough puppyhood doesn’t mean that things won’t change for the better. There are plenty of selfless animal advocates who dedicate themselves to giving stray and shelter pets a second chance, which is how Rocky, the rescue pup, came into Stacy Thomas’s care.

rescued dog up for adoption: Foster Dog Rescued Within Minutes of Euthanasia Still Looking for His Forever Home

Stacy is the Executive Director of Greenwalds Service, Inc., a Houston-based nonprofit that aims to place shelter dogs while helping veterans who suffer from PTSD. The organization has helped dozens of dogs find their forever homes, but there’s one special boy who’s still searching for his Happily Ever After. At only two years old, Rocky has so much love and life ahead of him–but he needs someone to give him a chance.

Rescued Just in Time

Rocky–whose name was Doozy at the shelter–first arrived at a Texas county shelter in August 2022. Despite being found wearing a collar, the young American Foxhound had no microchip and no one to step forward to claim him. So after a week, he went up for adoption.

He was only 8 months old at the time, and he watched his first birthday come and go from the inside of a kennel. Just 10 days before Christmas, he and another shelter dog found themselves living every shelter dog’s worst nightmare. Despite being young and healthy, they were on the euthanasia list only because no one showed interest in adopting them. And that’s when Stacy and Greenwalds Service, Inc. comes into play.

On December 15, 2022, she received a call about Doozy and his shelter buddy. She “took one quick look and fell in love,” and both dogs were brought to her rescue the very same day.

Adopt Rocky

An All-Around Family Dog

The very first thing Stacy did to help Doozy out was change his name–to Rocky! At the time, his shelter friend was named Bullwinkle, and the matching set of names sounded much more fitting.

After over 100 days at the county shelter each, Rocky and Bullwinkle spent their days at boarding and later at Stacy’s home. She renovated her garage to give the dogs their own space, and she even built a climate-controlled building in the yard just for her foster dogs. But you’ll usually find Rocky relaxing outdoors.

“Rocky spends a good part of his days in someone’s lap or laying on a table in the backyard, especially when the weather is nice,” explains Stacy. “You rarely see him lying on the ground. He is usually on a table but occasionally the loveseat or a chair.” Clearly, this is a dog who knows his worth! He’ll help himself with any trash or food scraps left on his favorite table (he doesn’t steal from any other table or even the floor), and he never hesitates to ask for pets from the people around him.

Rocky has lived with Stacy and her family for over a year now, and she has no idea why he hasn’t been adopted yet. He is an affectionate goofball who loves to play with other dogs (he’s gentler with the smaller foster pups) and is friendly with adults and kids of all ages. He will need to continue practicing obedience training and leash manners in his forever home, but he’s shown nothing but promise in his time with Stacy. He’s even doing great with his crate training, though he has been busted counter-surfing a few times. Nobody’s perfect!

This rescue dog is a young and versatile pup who would excel in a variety of forever homes. If you’d like to know more about this resilient guy who was saved in the nick of time, check out his profile.