Rocky the Sheltie Soccer Champ takes his gamesmanship very seriously.  Rocky was rescued off a Louisiana highway by our son, Kevin.  A pizza truck driver was trying to run over the little guy.  Fortunately for the driver, Kevin was too busy rescuing Rocky to deal with the driver.  Little did Kevin know then what a rollicking soccer player he had encountered.

As fiercely as he had fought the pick-up truck and as badly wounded as this sweet little wanderer was, he gave only a yelp when Kevin picked him up.  First, the long gash across his back had to be stitched up.  Thanks Mr. Pizza Driver.  May a crazed camel run rampant in your tent with malice aforethought.

Rocky was mangy and had to be shaved down even before he could be stitched up.  Some of his teeth were damaged, probably  broken in his defiance of the pizza truck.  Several had to be pulled, but he still has enough to catch a soccer ball on the fly.

Rocky in his tennies

Obviously Rocky had been on the road for a very long time, and we will always wonder how such a handsome little guy was out fending for himself.   We prefer to think that he somehow got lost from some loving family.  Initially Kevin felt he could not let Rocky out without a leash which suggests that the little guy may have considered himself on a mission to get to some specific place.  Certainly the pads on his feet are still badly worn and tender after several years, but then Rocky plays a no-holds-barred game of ball on any surface.

 That first night, Kevin took the little wayfarer home to meet his own Sheltie.   Rowdy, the resident Sheltie, accepted him matter-of-factly, as long as the newly-named Rocky understood that he, Rowdy, was indeed the alpha dog.  Rowdy is a herder dog that could exhaust a border collie.  Rocky is so laid back you sometimes check to see if he is breathing.  Even so, there are some inevitable interactions.  Rocky is not allowed to play with Rowdy's monkey or a tennis ball.  Rocky controls the soccer ball.  Each has to stay out of the other's food bowl but only until after the owner has walked away.

    Rocky and Rowdy
 

Most interactions are more comic than threatening, and it prompted Kevin to make up some cartoons about the two.  Rocky sometimes barks at the moon in the day time.  At night, he is more likely to ignore it.  Go figure.  Still, it prompted this recent cartoon.  Over time, I will share some of the others.

Dogs are neat creatures.  Often I find their behavioral actions more acceptable than those of humans.  By the way, if anyone has a good suggestion for improving a dog's foot pads, let me know.  They are improving with a cream that contains olive oil and bees wax but not as quickly as I would like.  I acquired bag balm, but it contains petroleum, and Rocky licks his feet so I'm reluctant to use it.