ROSIE

*ROSIE* IN A NUTSHELL: Timid adult. Housebroken, good with cats and other dogs of all sizes. Current on all shots and microchipped.
Rosie is a very young looking/acting adult of at least 5 years of age. She moved here from Michigan several years ago with her family; however, that family has changed (in members, as well as living situation to job responsibilities) and Rosie finds herself in need of a new place to call home.

Rosie has been well loved and cared for by her current mom; however, mom is doing the right thing in finding alternative placement for Rosie as she finds herself overwhelmed with health and job responsibilities and she feels Rosie is suffering because she can no longer give her the time and attention that she needs and deserves. There is just not enough time in a day...

According to her mom, Rosie gets along well with other dogs and had lived with cats in the past. She is very well housetrained, rides "like an angel" in a vehicle and does well when left home alone. She walks well on a leash and has been around young children on occasion.

UPDATE 2/1: We asked Rosie's owner to bring her up to meet one of our staff members and volunteer Lucas. She would not approach either of us directly but did take a tentative sniff of each of us on several occasions and then retreated to her owner's side. We brought in Zuko (a one year old male shepherd) to see how she would do with him and she was perfectly fine ... as long as he did not approach her mom. There were a couple of short growls, and Rosie put herself between Zuko and her mom; however, there was no aggression at any time and Zuko didn't even notice. Our resident dog testing cat, Hermione, came in to meet her and Rosie was more than happy to say hello.

   

INSIGHTS FROM VOLUNTEER, LUCAS: "I am excited about this beautiful girl. I was initially told that Rosie was reactive to men and was asked to attend this evaluation to see how she would do, but I am not convinced she is terribly reactive at all. Personally she reminds me very much of my own shepherd and is, instead, just quite timid. While I understand this may be off-putting to some people, I have found these types of dogs to be some of the most loyal, caring and rewarding animals you can have. The remainder of our introduction to her only solidifies my initial thoughts. When I walked into the room, Rosie looked at me and hid behind her mom and really was not interested in me. She did eventually come over and sniff me, but the moment I acknowledged her, she retreated again. She acted this way with Nancy as well but was more willing to come up and sniff her. It is important to note that at no point did she bark, growl or bear teeth at me or Nancy, and simply stayed with her person, happily accepting pets. She did eventually come over to me when I offered her chicken, though she was too stressed to want to accept it.

At the point where we introduced her to another dog to evaluate her response, she was protective of her mom's space and gave perfect corrections to the puppy we brought in (who in all honesty is quite a handful). To me this shows her loyalty and restraint in communicating her boundaries, not being aggressive in any way, even though she was clearly quite stressed. She was obviously loved and well cared for. I think she will be a wonderful companion to someone who is able to give her a stable, calm home and plenty of attention. If I didn't already have a female, I'd consider taking her home myself."

Rosie will be joining our rescue on Saturday, February 8th, and will take up temporary residence with foster mom, Wendy. She will be available for immediate introductions and adoption.

UPDATE 2/8: Rosie was surrendered to our rescue this morning and headed off to her new foster home with Wendy, who will keep us updated on this girl's settling in period.

FOSTER UPDATE 2/9: "She is everything her mom said she was. She won't eat any of the treats that came with her but she loves our chicken so I tricked her into eating some food by adding chicken crumbs to it. She's only had about half a cup of food since I brought her home. She is housebroken and she loves her crate. So far she doesn't request my attention and is in her crate rather than with me in my office."

FOSTER UPDATE 2/10: "What an interesting day we've had. She wouldn't come into the office and stayed in her crate (in the livingroom). Eventually she came when I called her, but she wouldn't stay. I moved the blanket that was between the sofa and her crate into the office, but that didn't help. When I was done for the day and sat on the sofa, she went into the office and laid on it. I finally got her to eat by adding chicken crumbs to her food. She's eaten about three quarters of a cup since she got here. She went straight to her crate when Amela got here and stayed there. After about half an hour, when Amela put her hand in the crate, she did smell it but cringed away. Tonight there was something that sounded like gun shots and she took off out of her crate and went straight to my closet. It took about ten minutes for her to come back. I sat beside her on her blanket because she was shaking so bad, but she got up and went into her crate. She's still shaking but not as bad."

FOSTER UPDATE 2/11: "Today I left Rosie alone for about 6 hours. I left her with the radio and a light on. When I got home she started going in circles, which is what she does when she needs to go out. I took her out and she quickly peed and headed home. We came in, she grabbed a toy and ran around the coffee table and dinner table 4 or 5 times, dropped it and came right up to me. I petted her and she laid down beside me. When I went back into my office and she came in, laid down and stayed there until I was done for the day. I had given her a dental chew when I left but she didn't touch it until we were both in the living room. There's hope."

What an excellent THIRD DAY UPDATE from foster mom Wendy. So, Rosie is telling us that it's going to take her a few days to settle in and trust her new family. We haven't done any stranger introductions as yet, but that will come soon.

FOSTER UPDATE 2/14: "We hit milestones today. She ate a little and put her head on my lap until I rubbed her ears." Needless to say, we are thrilled with the progress that Rosie is showing. Wendy will soon begin field trips to Lowe's, Ace Hardware, etc. to continue Rosie's socialization.

FOSTER UPDATE 2/15: "Our trip to Lowe's went much better than I expected. Her tail hung straight down except when we ran into a DIY class for kids. There was about a dozen all hammering. Her tail went up tight between her legs. It didn't take long for it to come down. I talked to a woman with a Husky Pug mix. When we met up with her and her dog later her dog wanted to play but Rosie just ignored her. We were there for about half an hour. John is coming over tomorrow and we'll see how she does."

Adoption fee $325.00.

If you are interested in Rosie, please fill out our PROSPECTIVE ADOPTER'S QUESTIONNAIRE. You will be contacted by return email. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, please Email Nancy at WhiteGSDRescue@AOL.com. This questionnaire link is only for Rosie or other white German Shepherds on our site. WE WILL NOT CONTACT YOU until a questionnaire has been completed.