By Kathleen Beaver, President & CEO, Animal Friends
It always hurts when we lose one of our own. But losing a little dog named Rosie was particularly hard.
She was one of those dogs with one of those stories that just weaves their way into your heart. She epitomized why we do what we do at Animal Friends.
Rosie lived her life in a barn, almost completely alone. Her owner did love her and did the best he could, but his health was failing and we knew it was no life for this spunky little dog. Working with the Armstrong County Humane Officer, our staff removed Rosie and with patience and skill earned her trust. After weeks in a foster home, she was placed into a dedicated permanent home. It felt like the perfect ending to a very sweet rescue story.
Unfortunately, there was a tragic twist. Rosie slipped out the door of her home and decided that it was time to run free. After an exhaustive search spanning several weeks, word came that Rosie had been hit by a car and passed away.
We were stunned, speechless and, quite frankly, devastated. But we also knew we had to make some sense of her passing. We owed it to Rosie.
Introducing…Rosie’s Rule. This new program has one goal—to ensure that dogs who are most at risk for becoming separated from their handler can be successfully and safely reunited.
Animal Friends has teamed up with Fi Smart Dog Collar to provide GPS-enabled dog collars for any of our canine residents who are identified as a flight risk. Once outfitted with the Fi collar, Rosie’s Rule dogs will keep their collar throughout their stay at Animal Friends, while in foster care and on through their adoption which will also include a one-year subscription to the Fi App—at no cost to their new family.
Anyone who has lost a pet—whether for weeks, days, hours or minutes—knows the stress and heartache that comes along with it. We know that Rosie’s Rule will help to create happy endings for lost dogs and keep more dogs right where they belong—safe at home with loving families.
To learn more about Rosie’s Rule, how you can support it though a donation or how you can “pay it forward” when you purchase a lifesaving Fi collar for your own pet, email us at RosiesRule@ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org or visit ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org/RosiesRule.
We can do better. Let’s do this for Rosie.