1/7/08:   Cognac has gone home with his new forever family!!

 H U G E thanks to everyone who contributed towards his medical bills and general care. Your generosity is amazing and greatly appreciated by all of us here at

Florida Boxer Rescue, Inc.!

UPDATE 12/11/07:

Cognac here, and I am going to be FAMOUS!!!!  Look for me in the News Press in Fort Myers and on Wink TV on Dec 14th.  I am trying not to let it go to my head but c’mon when was the last time you were  on TV,  hrmmmm?   I am soooo cute, I wonder if I can get on Oprah?  FBR is having this fundraiser down in Cape Coral on the 15th and I am the Main Attraction.  Mom is even making me bake all the cookies, see that is me at the stove ready to take a batch of cookies out.

Well anyway,  I wanted to also tell you that even though I do like children, what I like the most is to jump on their heads. I find that to be very entertaining but mom says it is not proper behavior.  So obviously, it would be best if I had older children in the home to play with so I don’t accidentally hurt a smaller child with all my puppy exuberance.  I am a very good boy but my new family is going to have to take me to some basic obedience classes. I am smart and eager to learn but I need to be shown what is right and wrong (remember, I was previously locked in a bathroom and was not socialized AT ALL). I definitely need formal training classes so please be sure you are willing to commit to the time and effort for training before you submit your application to adopt me.

I am also feeling 110% better; I even received a clean skin scrape and mom says one more of those next week and I am going to be ready to be adopted.  I know she will be sad to see me go because we like to snuggle together.  At night I am so spoiled that mom lets me sleep in her arms just like a little baby.  I just curl up on her lap and fall sound asleep.  It is so nice to get such happy peaceful sleep after the way I started out.  I know I am not supposed to think about those times since they are in my past but I appreciate what I have now even more because of my past.  Most of my hair has grown back in and I am one GOOD LOOKING BOY, everyone at the dog park says so :-)

UPDATE 11/26/07: 

Hey everyone, it is me, Cognac! First I want to just tell you how much it means to me that so many people who don’t even know me have been so generous in donating to help with my medical bills.  If I could I would come and give you all personal Boxer slurps to say "thank you" but my foster mom says I am not allowed to take the car, something about me not having a drivers license. She can be so strict sometimes…heehee.

 Anyway, I am laughing now, but I had a bit of a rough week last week.  I ended up having to go in for an emergency neuter procedure.  I can’t get too far into the details because mom says it is inappropriate to discuss such things, but basically my "boy parts" became engorged and couldn’t go back in their rightful place and so the vet had to sedate me, ice me down and do some other things to get "it" back in!  He said now that I am neutered this shouldn’t be a problem in the future but boy was mom freaked out that morning, it was kind of funny watching her. 

 My demodex is getting better. I don’t have as many open sores and scabs on me and the hair is starting to grow back.  I can’t stand the medication I have to take for it.  It is the nastiest stuff and you know it must be bad if I, (a dog), don’t like it.  Check out  the new photo of me!

I am enjoying playing with the other dogs in the house and I am very good in my crate when mom goes to work.  I usually sleep on the floor until mom goes to sleep and then I sneak into the bed but that is because it is cold and snuggling with mom and the other dogs makes me feel all safe and loved.  I can’t believe how great being in rescue is, I get so much love and attention - I just eat it all up.  Mom said that when I get to my forever home it will be even better - I can’t imagine how, but I am looking forward to it.  Mom thinks I will be ready by Christmas and that maybe I can spend the holidays with my new family (but remember, FBR does not adopt out dogs as gifts or surprises - no exceptions!!). 

 Did I mention that I also LOVE kids!!!!???  I have met many little kids when mommy takes me places and it is so cool to just give them kisses and make them giggle.  I do get a bit excited and mom tells me "no jumping" so I stop and then just let them pet me.  Mom says that I would be a great dog for a committed family with OLDER children.

Well, gotta go - but I'll write more soon. C'ya!

~Cognac

My Story

I'll start off by telling you that a nice neighbor tried helping me when my so called "family" decided they didn't care anymore. She took me and kept me in her car until she could figure out what to do! I'm relieved to be with Florida Boxer Rescue now, because I know they will take good care of me. I want to forget everything that has happened to me in the past, but will talk about it one last time because I know you're probably curious. Heck, I would be too.

Well, here it goes...

My name used to be fitting, as I was a bouncing Boxer baby with a beautiful amber-like coat.  As you can see, those days are long gone; now I barely have any fur left on me!  It all began with a teeny, tiny little patch of hair loss but my humans chose to ignore it and the patch grew bigger and bigger and eventually spread to my whole body. 

The thing is, had my humans cared enough to get me medical attention when they first saw the hair loss, my condition (demodex) could have been treated very easily.  But frankly they didn't care, so now not only am I virtually hairless, but I also am terribly itchy and have all sorts of sores, scabs and just yucky crusty stuff all over my little body.  I feel horrible!

 I wish that my story ended there, but it doesn't unfortunately.  I'm pretty sure my humans never loved me;  I don't know why they even got me in the first place.  I was forced to live in the bathroom and was never given attention. In the last few weeks, they didn't even feed me, so I am very skinny and under weight right now.

 I've had to endure the pain of going hungry and the discomfort of my skin condition for such a long time. My social needs were not met either. I've never experienced the simple pleasure of going for a walk outside on a leash. I was never taught manners or how to behave.  I also don't really know how to play with other dogs appropriately.  I keep jumping on the other dogs in my foster home and let me tell you - they don't like that a whole lot! My foster mom says I need to practice walking on a leash, going into a crate and learning some basic commands. Even though I feel lousy, I am excited for the opportunity to learn new things and become the best Boxer boy I can be!

I have a long road ahead but I know I can do it. I am only one year old. The last two months have been something I can't wait to forget, but my foster mom keeps telling me that now that I am in rescue, I have only great things in my future - and boy, oh boy, do I like the sound of that!

I am happy to finally have food to eat and am enjoying the love and attention I'm receiving in my foster home.  My care and treatment is going to cost FBR a significant amount of money so if you could maybe help out by sending in a donation I would really appreciate it (the FBR people will too). 

 Check back often for updates and photos of my new fur as my treatments begin. My projected recovery isn't until December 2007, so I can't be adopted yet. Sending you thanks in advance and lots of cyber-Boxer slurps,

~Cognac

XOXO

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