As part of Muttville’s Fospice Program, Rosie enjoyed a wonderful life with fospice mom Kay. Despite her health issue, Rosie lived an extra long and fulfilling life! Kay wrote this beautiful story of her life with Rosie:
Rosie came to us in March 2014 after being surrendered to a shelter when her companion of 16 years could no longer care for her. Rosie herself was in renal failure, however, she was not displaying any symptoms, as yet. She was thin, withdrawn and seemed, not surprisingly, very depressed. She would eat but then would just go lay on her bed and sleep. She didn’t seem to need human contact. We gave her space to settle in at her own pace but kept a very close eye on her.
Slowly she started to come out of her shell; she started to roam around the house and follow us out into the garden. Eventually, she allowed herself to relax and sunbathe on the patio with our two other dogs.
She accompanied me to work where she slept in my office by my feet and then would take herself off around the office for a stroll and, soon became an office favorite.
Within two months she was a completely different dog. She loved riding in the car with the air conditioning full blast in her face. Every morning she ran up and down the hall a few times, her back leg kicking out to the side like she was doing the conga. She fought with her bed at least once a day. She ate three hearty meals a day. She spent hours wondering around the garden sniffing at everything. And, my personal favorite, she was banned from the groomer’s for being “too feisty”– we both wore that like a badge of honor.
Sadly, a couple of months ago she developed seizure-like episodes. She recovered quickly and her quality of life was still very good. Unfortunately, she had two bad episodes and we decided her quality of like was being compromised and decided, with our vet, that it was kinder to say goodbye and let her go.
Rosie could have easily been passed over as a shutdown dog who was not a good candidate for adoption. But she was just frightened and confused and needed a little time to adjust and let her true personality surface. She was not a cuddly little dog but an independent little spirit who completely took us all by surprise and we fell in love with her. She was a little character who made us laugh on a daily basis. It’s heart breaking to say goodbye to her but I’m so happy and honored that we were the ones to bring her around and give her another year where she blossomed and enjoyed her life to the end.
As always, thank you to Muttville for saving her and giving us Rosie for a year.
4/29/15
Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.
