Most people think all dogs can swim. That’s not true. They can do something that MAY help to save themselves should they get in that situation. But some dogs are so panicked in the water that they could actually drown. Toby’s dog Beau was one of those dogs.

Smudge is such a great boy. His right leg was amputated last year due to an accident. He’s a 13 year old beagle shephard mix, and this was his first time in the water. It was an emotional experience for all the humans!

You may or may not know this, but we spent a year researching what type of sanitation system we wanted to use in our center’s pool. We knew chlorine was very bad, and never considered it. Chlorine is known to cause allergies and asthma, and recent research is linking it to cancer. Even if you bathe (or rinse your dog) afterward, the damage is still done.

Massage – what a great way to not only bond with your dog but to help keep them healthy and relaxed. At the start of our Introduction to Canine Massage class, the dogs were all bouncing off the walls wanting to play with each other

It was right before Christmas 2011 when my friend Angela started the “Adopt a Platoon” program! She came up with the idea after a conversation with her friend Aaron about his brother Nate, who’s serving our country in Afghanistan. Aaron, a former Marine, was talking about the low morale among our troops. Angela has no connections to anyone in the military, but when Aaron told her that the troops feel forgotten, she felt compelled to do something for Nate’s platoon. So she started collecting donations for a care package for Nate’s platoon.

I read an article about the heart in my February newsletter from Donna Eden. Donna is a renowned Energy Medicine Practitioner, author of “Energy Medicine”, and MY teacher – OK not just mine! Donna has held hundreds of workshops and classes all over the world, so she’s a teacher to thousands! Donna shared a wonderful article on the heart in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Rocky’s Retreat hosted a Pug Valentine’s day pot luck party for their meetup group. Lots of people, great food, and most important, pugs everywhere! Looks like everyone had a great time, especially the dogs!

There’s been a lot of discussion lately on the use of stem cells in the treatment of chronic conditions in humans. The use of embryonic stem cells has ethical and sourcing concerns in that it raises the question of whether these cells are viable and if they will be rejected by the recipient

A month ago my friend Angela, a member of my “village” which includes a lot of us theme park performers, called for help! She found a dog roaming her neighboorhood. No collar or tags, no microchip was found, but he was found to be heart worm positive. Angela put the word out! People chipped in with donations as well as offering free gifts and services as donation incentives! Enough money was raised to pay his geneorusly reduced by the vet’s bill and off he went to his foster home!

Yesterday, I was writing a completely different article but something happened that changed the course of what I wanted to talk about.

We are the only Orlando dog boarding and Orlando doggie day care center that has an indoor heated pool for dogs. See it for yourself by scheduling a tour!

Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888