Having done our research the club was able to trace their roots. Several years ago one of our founding breeders passed away in Florida. Her daughter recognizing that this breed was selling for $1,000 and up,
gathered up the dogs and moved them to a barn in Utah. What a sad situation.. some of the first havanese to touch American soil were now in a puppy mill. When I first went to the webpage, after putting it off for weeks, my eyes - my heart - my soul went straight to a picture of an elderly little girl. Bella Rosa. I remember that I put my hand to the monitor and cried. Somebody recalled that when the original breeder first became ill, Bella Rosa had been placed in a crate and forgotten about for 4 days. No food, no water, no place to relieve herself. When she was discovered her crate was full of maggots and larvae. As a result Bella Rosa had become prone to anxiety attacks when placed in closed quarters. It was going to be hard to place her out of state.
On the day I met Sandy to bring her home, I found myself loving an elderly girl right away. It was as though we had been with one another forever. When I walked through the door with her, she went from my arms and straight into Jason's. She was home.
I'm laughed at - at my vets office. They claim if one of my pets hiccup, I'm there. I made the appointment to take her in and be seen. That morning, I was at work and Jason called me. "She won't answer to Bella.
She won't answer to Rosa. You know what she answers to.. Rosie! Rosie.. (Jason is not a fan of Rosie O'Donnell and I had to laugh at the sound in his voice)" From work I shot off an email to the Havanese e-group and shared her new name with them. After all, as I had announced to the group earlier.. she's not just mine, she's yours as well. She was to belong to every breeder who let a pet go intact into any home.. she was
to be a reminder of what could happen. A great "rescue" friend of mine, Lu W. laughed at how I described Jason's reaction to Rosie's new name. My reply was.. "her name is now Rosie Lu"
So Jason and Rosie Lu head out for the vet. The news wasn't as good as I had hoped, but wasn't as bad either. She was diagnosed with arthritis, a collapsing trachea, she was deaf in her right ear, and had the most
severe ear and gum/teeth infections the staff had ever seen. We put her on a rigorous course of anti-biotics, got her healthy enough to have her teeth worked on and she settled into the Alpha position with my two boys
Chewey (a silky terrier rescue) and Noel (my little havanese boy) By Christmas, Rosie's health began to decline. She would cry in pain, panting to the point that it became unbearable for her. I rushed her to Mesa Vets. We found a slipped disk in her neck. She was put on more meds. But this time a steroid was introduced. I knew the risks associated with this treatment, but there was no recourse. She had to be on them. Healthy again, we enjoyed a month or so of watching her gain weight, play with her brothers, argue with us when her food bowl was empty or she couldn't find her bully stick or chew toy.
February brought bad news. She became lethargic nearly overnight. Refusing to eat, drinking tons of water and within a 2 day period lost several pounds of the weight we had fought to put back on her. Off to the vet we went. Her blood glucose levels were at a dangerous 630. Our girl had diabetes, and had suffered a pancreatitis attack. I prayed, every single person in my address book was notified. She's got to be prayed for, she was so close to losing her life. And she fought. Two mornings later, I called before I went in to visit her and I could hear her fussing at anybody who dared to pass her by without greeting her. Later that evening I was called and begged to come and bring her home so the other "patients" could rest. Our girl was back on track. We were trained on giving insulin shots, the immediate first aid required for a diabetic having difficulties, and I was warned that this was going to be a very trying and stressful time for all of us. Our very lives, our schedules, now had to be based on being home for those shots. Doing those blood curves, knowing the signs of trouble.
March brought more bad news. I began to notice her new coat falling out around her face. Rosie Lu had cushings.. And then it happened. The day before Memorial Day, Jason and I left the house to run errands. We came home looking for three little furrs and only saw two. Noel, my sweet little shadow, my mama's boy, grabbed at my pants leg and barked. He would then run to the doggy door and repeat the same actions. I followed him, opened the door and he ran to where Rosie Lu was laying. She was barely hanging on. We rushed her inside, poured Karo down her throat, massaged it into her gums, and she lifted her little head on the way to the emergency vets as though she was getting one last look at me. I knew she would not come back home at that moment.
Later that evening I had to come home and find the strength to share the news with those that had come to love her through our daily diaries. Literally thousand of people were praying for her that night. I called the vet hourly to check on her and was finally asked what to do should she go into cardiac distress. I couldn't answer, I felt as though it were up to Rosie Lu and what she wanted to do.
Early Memorial Day morning at 6:05 am, 2003 Rosie Lu made her decision. She had wanted to be loved, and she was loved so deeply. Recognizing it, realizing it, her little body led her soul to the bridge.
Rosie Lu was with us for seven months. She left her paw print on so many lives and so many hearts. A fund was started for Havanese Rescue in her name. In June I was asked to attend the National Havanese Specialty in Orlando. I hadn't planned on attending, as at the time the reservations had to be made Rosie was with us and I had to tend to her. I accepted the invitation and was given a beautiful Angel Bear and a miniature replica of Rosie Lu. Rosie and her Angel Bear sit proudly in my den where she can still be a part of our lives and a constant reminder to me that any and every rescue organization needs my undivided attention and support. Since her passing I've dedicated myself to many causes that were associated with
Rosie Lu. I accepted the position as Fund Raising Chairperson for a pet diabetes support group who provides funds to diabetic pet families in need of financial help. I'm one of the Havanese Rescue and Silky Terrier
Rescue's most loyal committee members. I serve as a member for the Havanese Cuban Relief Committee - dedicated to raising funds for our havanese ancestors in Cuba where medical supplies are hard to come by. A dear friend of ours, Laura C. wrote this poem and dedicated it to Rosie Lu. It's a very beautiful tribute to one of the most special animals God has blessed this planet with.
READ ROSIE'S POEM
