Boston Terrier Rescue of Florida was the second-place winner of the 2016 1-800-PetMeds Cares™ National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week Contest. You can learn more about the contest here.

The Boston Terrier Rescue of Florida was founded in 2001 to save lost, abandoned and surrendered Boston terriers throughout Florida and the southeast U.S. It utilizes two unique programs, the Senior Center Program and Pups In Need (P.I.N.), to rescue and rehabilitate all Boston terriers that join the rescue.

The Senior Care Program houses senior, chronically-ill and terminally-ill Boston terriers in one of two senior care centers in Tennessee. There, the pets have a comfortable, stable environment where all their medical needs are met through the end of their lives.

The other program, P.I.N., is a rescue, vet, foster, adopt program that trains fosters to provide the specialized care needed by many of the dogs rescued by BTRFL. Through P.I.N., fosters are taught basic dog training, such as how to housebreak or leash-train a dog, as well as how to socialize the foster dog. Some fosters receive further training in the care of senior dogs, deaf/blind dogs and those with medical needs. Most of BTRFL’s adoptable dogs go through the P.I.N. program with a foster before finding their forever homes.

Fosters are integral to BTRFL. According to BTRFL’s website, “our foster homes allow our Bostons to play outside and learn how to socialize with humans and other pets.” The foster families provide any necessary medical care and training, but even more importantly, they allow the dogs to be part of a loving family. The fosters also learn the dogs’ personalities, behaviors, health and needs to better match the pets with the right homes.

One such dog helped by BTRFL’s foster program is Rocco Duval.

HI!  My name is Rocco Duval and I am pretty new to rescue.  Even though I am told that I am 10 years old, I have a hard time believing it since I act and play like a much younger guy. I just love toys!!  I am also obsessed with the spray from a garden hose.  It is so much fun to chase and bite the water, I could do it all day (except that I do like naps too so maybe not ALL day).  I also love when my Foster Dad gets the towel out to dry me off.  That feels sooo good.  Oh, and did I mention that I love toys??

My other favorite thing to do is snuggle with my Foster Dad.  And at bedtime, I love to curl up under the covers in my Foster Dad’s bed and then I am good to go until morning.

The one thing that I don’t like is yelling and loud noises.  When people yell when I am around, I think they are mad at me and that upsets and scares me.  Because of that, I don’t want to be around young kids and all the noise that they make.  I guess I am just a little bit of a sensitive guy.  There’s nothing wrong with a guy showing his sensitive side, am I right, ladies?

While I love my foster home, I can’t wait to find my forever home so that I can get settled in to a permanent place where I can snuggle, and love AND PLAY!

BTRFL adopts out Boston terriers across the continental U.S., although preference is given to applicants in Florida, Georgia and/or Tennessee. All adoptable pets are micro-chipped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested and current on all preventative medications.

Learn more about the group by visiting BTRFL’s website. If you’re interested in adopting Rocco Duval or another pet, please fill out the online application form.