Name: Rosalina - 2 y/o
Family Members: Meghan, Corey, Remington (K-9), Teagan (K-9), Hemingway (cat) & Gizmo (cat)
How long as Rosalina been in the family? 4 months
Professions: Attorney & Firefighter/Paramedic
Location: Atlanta, GA
Nicknames: Rosa, RosaBean
5 words that best describe Rosa?
- Happy
- Resilient
- Silly
- Grateful
- Soulful
What makes Rosa unique? Rosa vocalizes her feelings. If she feels something; happiness, frustration, excitement....She will tell you with the funniest noises. It's adorable.
Rosa also LOVES to be in the kitchen. If someone is cooking, she is in the kitchen. She never interferes, she will just sit in the corner leaning up against the cabinets and watch the food being prepared. Corey calls her his sous chef.
Rosa with her favorite toy and journey companion - sock monkey!
Rescue Story: In September, we went to Puerto Rico for a week on vacation. It was the day before we were heading home to Atlanta and we woke up in the morning planning on going snorkeling. As it turned out, it was raining so we made a last minute change of plan and decided to go to the Bacardi Rum distillery instead. On our way to the rum factory, we got lost in a nearby town. As we drove past an empty parking lot, a dog limped up to the street from the bushes. She look injured, so we stopped to see if she needed help. When we pulled into the parking lot she was laid out on the blistering hot asphalt but she wagged her tail as we approached. She was covered in mange and although she wasn't injured she was very sick. We opened the car door and she crawled into the back seat with a boost from Corey. We pulled into the Bacardi Factory and asked the security guard for directions to a vet. He told us how to get to the Banfield clinic at Petsmart. We stopped by a restaurant on the Bacardi grounds and they made some plain chicken and rice for Rosa and got her some water. The bartender at the restaurant gave us a spare leash, collar and towel that she had in her car.
We took Rosa to Banfield clinic. When she walked into the Petsmart she perked up ever so slightly and wagged her tail. She picked up a sock monkey out of one of the bins of toys in Petsmart while we waited and held on to it. At this point, we were both thinking that we would take her to the vet, maybe pay for her initial treatment, and the vet could connect us with a rescue group who could help her. It was then that we learned about the stray dog overpopulation in Puerto Rico. The vet explained to us that the shelters are full and usually euthanize on intake. The rescues are full and are all trying to adopt their dogs off the island. She still agreed to try to help and she did help. She spent 2 hours on the phone calling over a dozen vet clinics and rescue organizations. She finally found a vet that agreed to care for Rosa if we would pay for her treatment and bring her back to the U.S. So we paid for the sock monkey and drove Rosa to Centro Veterinario Guaynabo.
When we arrived, they said they were expecting us and ushered us into a room and set about developing a treatment plan. Rosa had Demodex and several secondary bacteria and yeast infections on her skin. She was anemic and suffering from malnutrition. The vet estimated she had been living on the street for at least 8 months. We left her in the care of the vet, and headed home to Atlanta. They took amazing care of her. They texted us daily with updates and photos, sometimes videos of how she was doing. The sock monkey was with her in every photo. Finally, after about 5 weeks she was well enough to travel, so we ordered a travel crate. shipped it to PR (thank goodness for Amazon Prime) and bought Rosa a plane ticket. The amazing vet tech Jose put the crate together in PR and drove Rosa to the airport for her flight. When she finally arrived in Atlanta, with her sock monkey, she was so happy to see us.
We are continuing to battle the drug resistant bacterial infection on her skin, but she is happy and doing well. Our vet here in Georgia, Dr. Sherry Hilton of Jones Bridge Animal Hospital has been truly wonderful to us and has gone out of her way to make Rosa's treatment affordable and to take amazing care of her. Words can't really express how much we appreciate her help and the help of all the people we have encountered on this journey.
Nothing is known about Rosa's history, but we can tell she had an owner at some point. She is housebroken, crate trained and knows basic commands. The vet in PR said it's not uncommon for people there to abandon their dogs if they fall on hard times.
Rosa just after her rescue in PR.
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Meghan loves taking Rosa on long walk through Piedmont Park and Corey loves to take her for runs through the city.
What is life like since you rescued Rosa? It has been an adventure! But Rosa makes us laugh every day. We did not plan on getting a third dog, but Rosa is such an amazing dog with a kind and resilient spirit that now we can't imagine giving her up. She reminds me to always be hopeful because your life can change in the most unexpected and amazing ways out of nowhere. It's crazy to think that if it had not rained that day in Puerto Rico, if we hadn't gotten lost , if she hadn't limped out of the brush to the road at the exact moment the we were driving by...she wouldn't be asleep next to me on the couch as I type this.
Photographers Note: One day while walking my dog Charlie in Piedmont Park, I see a dog from a distance walking with their human and its looks like a twin to my dog. I slow down and approach them (as recruiting for Shine A Light often happens during walks in various Atlanta locations), upon closer inspection this dog's brindle was a darker shade then Charlie's and just shone in the sun. That dog and human was Rosa and Meghan. I commented on how cute Rosa was of course and mentioned Shine A Light. When Meghan shared just a little bit of their story, I so hoped she would be willing to tell it to a larger audience. Thankfully she contacted me and here is the result.
There are not many people out there that would have done what Meghan and Corey did that day in Puerto Rico. It would have been so easy for them to turn the other way; we don't live here, it's not our problem...but they didn't. They put that sickly pup in their car and did everything they could for her to get her safe. Sounds like they found some pretty wonderful people in PR to help them with that. Look at the result of all that love; a beautiful coat, a warm home and food every day, and just the sweetest and loving demeanor.
During the photo shoot, Meghan realized she had forgotten Rosa's sock monkey. I had asked her to bring it because it's so much a part of her journey. Corey very graciously went back to their place to get it (thankfully they live close by). When Meghan and I were waiting for his return, she turned to me and said " it's funny how a dog that you have just met, can fit into your life and your heart so quickly, like she has always been there." Funny indeed!! Thank you Meghan & Corey for rescuing this sweet girl!