Rosalita was found abandoned in a backyard in June of 2013. She only weighed 40 pounds, almost 20 pounds below her healthy weight. She was a 6 year-old, heartworm positive, poorly socialized pit bull mix. She was great with people but aggressive with most dogs. Unfortunately, at KC Pet Project she was surrounded by other shelter dogs and visitors only saw anti-social Rosie (she only responded to Rosie, never Rosalita). But the volunteers grew to love the sweet dog that they took on walks. With all the strikes against her, Rosie languished in a kennel for 8 months until we fostered her so she could get her heartworm treatment. Not only did she desperately need the treatment, it was hoped that removing at least one strike would help make her more adoptable. We were supposed to spend 4-6 weeks keeping her calm and rested while the heartworms died off and were cleared from her system. Rosie used that time to build a home in our hearts, not by slobbering all over us and being clingy, but by being smart and independent. She was an introvert and that was perfect for our household. So we adopted Rosie. We gave her the official name of Rosalita Patience Hatterman and lavished her with all the love she could possibly stand. And she returned that love a thousand-fold.
4-6 weeks became 88 weeks, the last of which was spent at BluePearl where Rosie received the finest of treatment but could not overcome kidney failure. She went into cardiac arrest in the early hours of November 3, 2015. We held her as the drugs were administered to ease her pain and help her to transition. When we returned to the hospital the next day, assuming that we had paperwork to complete and to settle our bill, we were told, "Rosie had many friends. Her bill has been paid." To this day, we do not know who the anonymous donors were. Inspired by their kindness and Rosie's impact on our lives, we pledged to help other “unadoptable” dogs like Rosie find their forever families. Providing education, support, and shining a spotlight on senior and harder-to-adopt dogs is the mission of Rosie Fund.
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Be kind and courteous. Treat everyone with respect. Comments that are unrelated to the post, to Rosie Fund, or to the non-profit's primary functions may be deleted. This may include, but is not limited to memes, videos, self-promotion, spam, harassment, hateful or negative rhetoric, etc. No offensive language. Do not use profanity in your comments. Comments that include profanity or words that others may find offensive will be deleted. No hate speech or bullying. Hate speech and bullying of any kind are not allowed and comments will be deleted. Degrading comments about such things as race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated. Also not allowed are degrading comments related to specific types of animals, animal breeds, animal shelters and rescue groups; and the staff and volunteers of such organizations. The biographies Rosie Fund shares are not intended to be a complete history of a featured dog. Additional relevant details are always shared with potential adopters who inquire about a dog and a behavior consult is part of the adoption process.
