PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Dog Control Officer, Matthew Bates, reached out to tell his side of the story about what’s been circulating pertaining to Rocki the rottweiler, a dog recently euthanized by a local veterinary clinic. Chenango County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Richard Cobb additionally provided details about the investigation.

According to Bates, it was approximately 5 p.m. on May 24, 2014, when he first received a call of a dog lying on the side of Plymouth Reservoir Hill Road.

“As soon as I got the complaint, I headed right up there to see what was going on with the dog,” said Bates. “While en route to the complaint, I received another call on the same dog. When I got to the location, there was a dog lying in the road looking around. There was also a lady that lived nearby with the dog.”

Bates said the woman had no idea why the dog was in the road. He continued by saying the first thing he did was make sure the dog was not a victim of a car accident, and he determine the dog had not been hit by a car.

“After checking to make sure the dog was okay,” said Bates, “I got the dog up on his own and he walked back on the property where he resided. I did notice a little bunch on the dog’s shoulder, but after checking it out, the dog was in no pain when I touched it.”

He said he then contacted the Chenango Sheriff’s Office (County Dispatch) to see if he could look up some numbers for him, and Bates said the dispatcher was more than willing to help out.

“The Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from the Dog Control Officer asking for assistance in contacting who he believed to be Rocki’s owner,” said Lt. Cobb.

Said Bates, “The dog’s owners were not in the area, so I contacted a family member to see if he could come get the dog and take it to his place for I didn’t want the dog back in the road. The family member came right up and I turned the dog over to him.”

The DCO explained that at that point, his job was technically done, according to Ag and Market Law.

“But I wanted to see what was going on with the dog,” Bates said. “About an hour later, I received a phone call from the dog’s owner and thanked me for going up to check his dog. He did state the dog was getting cancer and was being seen for that. So that was the bunch on the dog’s shoulder. Again, you would never know that by looking at the dog. He was healthy and well taken care of.”