Meet Rosie

Rosie is a young adult from the streets of rural California. She looks like she could be a mix between malinois and golden retriever – triangle-shaped noggin with the occasional crazy eyes, with a long and lean frame and flowy mane. Rosie is a very very sweet girl. She bonded to her foster mom very quickly since coming to Oregon in Dec 2024. She is eager to please, and prefers to be glued next to your feet. While stinky treats (freeze dried) accelerated her decompression and learning process, effective communication was what really opened her eyes and set her up for success. Rosie has been much more calm and confident with clear boundaries and expectations.

A huge part of new pet decompression is the slow introduction and slow integration of pets in the house. Slow and steady wins the race to multi-pet harmony. Rosie has been a wonderful addition to our pack. Rosie is cat friendly – she greets and smells friendly cats who seem to be craving attention, but doesn’t fixate or tries to play aggressively. Rosie is also dog friendly – she has showed some interest in her foster brother, but is respectful and not-pushy in their general interactions. She is a momma’s girl, after all.

During the day, Rosie likes to sleep in her crate, with the door wide open. She has great walks around the neighborhood. She doesn’t counter surf, she enjoys non-barky window watching! With a brainiac like Rosie, moderate to high level of physical /mental exercise would be best for her (and your) mental health. Without an adequate energy outlet, this smart cookie could get bored, and chewing on wood furniture could be so tempting! Rosie loves flinging her soft toys around, and gently playing tug with her new humans.

Rosie is more comfortable with women and children. She is a little anxious around men – she approaches and smells their hands, but retreats and does not want affection or food. Be it trauma, be it personality, we praise her for her excellent communication and impulse control. We don’t love everybody that we meet, so we shouldn’t expect our pets to be dog-, cat-, and human-friendly all the time, no questions asked! However, the expectation of don’t-be-a-menace is absolutely reasonable. Rosie makes amazing choices on her own!

Rosie can be anxious – to set her up for success, we want to be owners / handlers who advocate for her. In a human world, with a leash on, we have taken away her ability to flee. We do not want to put her in positions where she feels she has to fight. We are not going to allow unruly or pushy dogs or people into her space, so that Rosie never feels the need to act up and convey “do not come closer, look at how big and scary I am.” We are building her self-confidence, as well as building her trust in her handler and the world.

Can you be her forever protector and partner-in-crime?