UPDATE: UNCA’s mascot, Rocky, has been returned to his owner Ed. Johnson. The English bulldog was found by former UNCA student Grace Welsh.
Preliminary report: Rocky may have been found. According to a status update from UNC Asheville’s Facebook page:
“We believe the Rocky the Bulldog has been found. Rocky’s keeper has verified a photograph that was sent to him and he is trying to make arrangements to collect Rocky. Thank you so much to everyone who has reposted this message. The outpouring of community support is much appreciated.”
UNC Asheville’s beloved mascot, Rocky, is missing. He was last seen about 9 PM Tuesday in West Asheville near the Admiral. He is a white bull dog and may be wearing a blue collar. If anyone has seen Rocky or has any information, please call Rocky’s keeper, Ed. Johnson at 828-280-1533.
I remember the first time I met Rocky, and even back then he wasn’t happy. The demands of his job, though maybe they could seem paltry to a human, were hellish for a dog.
“You people think I have it easy. Lounge away most of the day and then show up to an event for two or three hours and just be ‘The Man’. Well, it ain’t easy,” Rocky told me that night as we sipped on gin and tonics.
“You have to remember, us dogs see time differently. We age differently. Those two or three hours being ‘Mr. Cheer’ take a toll on me, ’cause it’s like a human working an 8 or 10 hour day with no breaks,” he paused and then added for effect, “NO breaks.”
And I can see his point. On top of that, the twenty or so hours a day (during peak sports season, at least) spent just waiting for the next gig were unpaid, save for doggie biscuits and the occasional walk. Keep in mind, each of those hours is like 4 or 5 human hours. Imagine one hundred hours just waiting.
His handler, who asked not to be named at the time (and I will honor that today), couldn’t imagine it. “Oh, come on,” she said, “don’t let him fool you. We treat him like a king.”
But Rocky had just snorted that night, “She’s a kid, even by human standards. I’m an old dog already, even though these spoiled brats at the college think I’m still a pup.”
His handler chugged back another shot of peppermint schnapps and laughed, “You aren’t just a pup, Rocky. You’re ‘The Pup’, the spirit of the school.”
Rocky just looked at me, and I knew that as soon as he found his opening, he’d be out of there.
I’m just surprised it took him this long.
Paging Stewart David..