ABOUT
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 families with the financial burdens that can come with rescue dogs and their medical expenses. We had already discussed finding a way to help other "unadoptable" dogs like Rosie find their forever families. In short, the mission of Rosie Fund is to provide humans with the resources and education they need to give senior and harder-to-adopt dogs a better life.
