Welcome to the Wednesday Dogs of Dogster! Every Wednesday, we share a story from one of our Dogsters. This week is about Nicole and her two rescue dogs, Mac and Rosa.
Meet Rosa and Machado. I have so many stories to tell about these extraordinary pups, but as they are rescue dogs, I feel like I need to share how they came to be Cosgroves. They live a rural life, break all of the house rules (like no dogs inside and no dogs on the bed), and change them to suit themselves with their cheeky smiles and unconditional love.
I'll be sharing stories about our lives together each month, the good, the challenging, and the hilarious. But this month, I'll begin with how our little hooligans found their way home.
Rosa came into our lives as a COVID baby. We had been on an 18-month nomadic adventure and were set to continue traveling for the foreseeable future. We were home in New Zealand for some weddings when the pandemic and lockdown hit, so we did what any normal traveler would do: we bought 25 acres of land with native New Zealand forest on it and started building an eco-retreat so we could host other travelers once the borders opened.
We already had our cat, Baby Cat, who had been living with family while we traveled. Since we were stuck in New Zealand, we realized COVID was a blessing and a chance for us to provide him with the retirement property he deserved -- but we thought we'd spice up his life a bit by getting him a dog. Retirement is not all about staying in your comfort zone, of course!
Scrolling through the Facebook feed of our region's main animal rescue daily, we saw plenty of adorable dogs, but it wasn't until about two weeks of searching later that 'Rose' appeared, and I remember yelling to my husband 'She's here! That's our girl!'
When he saw the photo, he agreed profusely, and we madly rushed to apply for her, praying we weren't too late. We drove over an hour to pick her up (and quickly learned that car rides were not her favorite).
If you are lucky enough to have a rescue animal in your life, you'll know that knowing their origin story is important in understanding the animal, but it does not define them.
Rosa's origin story may have some triggers, so please proceed through the next paragraph with caution:
Rosa was kept in a small box for the first 8 1/2 months of her life and was forced to have puppies on her first heat. When she was rescued, the woman who saved her was at a property investigating it as a potential puppy mill and was there to confiscate some other dogs when she heard some noise coming from the box. Inside, she found Rosa chained to her two puppies, who were about 2 1/2 months old. Thankfully, she got them away and the three of them went to live with an incredible couple who were fostering 15 dogs at the time we picked her up. We never met the lady who physically rescued Rosa, but her foster parents told us the story. The foster parents are dairy farmers who work with specific breeds of rescued dogs to train them to be working dogs, but with Rosa, they immediately knew she was a house dog. Rosa was in foster care for 3 months because she was so traumatized, and sadly, her son went feral and had to be put down because he was too dangerous to adopt out. Her daughter went to a lovely family, but all of this further traumatized Rosa. In addition to the emotional stress, Rosa is blind in her left eye due to physical trauma. We don't know what happened exactly, but we do know that she is the most brave, trusting, and incredible dog we've ever met.
Rosa got her name not just because she was previously named Rose, but because we had cared for a dog in Ecuador on our travels who was named Rosa, and she was the most kind-natured, motherly dog we'd ever met. When we met Rose, we were instantly reminded of Rosa and felt that the single letter change in honor of Rosa was perfect -- her foster family shared that she was the kindest-natured dog they had met, even with all of her past. This was one of the main contributing factors to her being labeled a 'house dog.' Her nature continued from the moment we met her and has only blossomed.
It's the strangest feeling, loathing the person who could treat any animal that way, especially the sweetheart she is, but also knowing that if it weren't for that situation, we wouldn't have our baby girl. There is also a strange gratitude in there somewhere. I don't know if any other readers or parents of rescues know what I'm talking about, but if you do, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
Rosa didn't know how to play, cuddle, or really be a dog when she arrived. She got a lot of 'spooks' as we call them. We do our best to make light of things and not let her spooks define her. We practice exposure therapy and shower her with all our love. In the early days, she learned a lot from Baby Cat (things like how to play the 'I-want-outside-no-I-want-inside' game, groaning in embarrassment at us, snoozing by the fire, and asking for food at all hours of the day). But, she was a Mama. The maternal instinct in her was strong and between nervous outbreaks, the girl was (and still is) always looking to care for someone.
She understandably has anxiety and showed signs of doggie depression when she first joined our family. She has come an incredibly long way. I'd like to say it was all that my husband and I have done for her, but I would be lying if I didn't introduce the main contributing factor to her healing now...
We never anticipated being a two-dog household until after we had Rosa for about six months. We had been trying for a human baby well before Rosa arrived, as the plan had been that Baby Cat needed an animal mate (Rosa) so he wouldn't be too upset about a human baby. But, as our human baby took longer to arrive, we learned that Rosa was actually the one who would need a mate once a baby arrived. She loved her cat, but he wasn't really playful or engaging. We talked about getting our dog a dog, but no dogs really caught our attention.
About three weeks after we found out I was pregnant, he appeared on our district council pound's Facebook page, and again, I immediately yelled to my husband 'He's here! This is our boy!'
The friendly giant was delivered to us by a wonderful woman from animal control who had been there for processing when he was brought in. She shared what little they knew about him.
His origin story is full of gaps. We know that he was found wandering through a farmer's field, looking very skinny. Up where we live, it's sadly not unlikely for a farmer to shoot a feral dog because it could injure or kill their livestock. The farmer who spotted Mac, however, noticed something gentle in his demeanor and felt he was a lost pet. He turned him into the council pound, and they advertised him as a lost dog. After 9 days, if nobody is able to show proof of ownership, legally they must put the dog up for adoption. We saw him on day 10 and he was ours. We assume he was abandoned, another sad reality of rural life. Many people get dogs as puppies, and when they grow up and become too difficult to feed or control, they ditch them on the side of the road.
We call Machado (named after Rob Machado) our 'drag to trash, surfer dude'. He's so chill and ready for adventure, like a surfer dude (my husband is also a surfer, so they are kindred spirits), and it's like he has truly forgotten whatever happened to him. He showed up at our door and left his past behind him, never to look back. It took him no time to become accustomed to life with us, and he immediately took his spot at the bottom of the chain, listening to his sister Rosa, and mostly, King Baby Cat.
The craziest part of Mac's arrival is that the woman who dropped him off took one look at Rosa and started welling up. "I know her! I know her!" she said.
She immediately grabbed her phone and started scrolling back through her album. Much to my disbelief, she showed me a photo of Rosa as an 8 ½-month-old puppy next to her son and daughter. She was the woman who physically saved Rosa and transferred her to the animal rescue foundation because she needed fostering (and the pound doesn't do that, they work with external organizations for this). She didn't know what happened to Rosa until that moment, and she was speechless, seeing how far she had come, and how happy her life was now.
We got our cat a dog, and we got our cat's dog a dog. The fur baby family was complete, and all we had to do was wait for our human baby to arrive.
Without knowing Rosa's history, one would meet her and simply assume she was quirky, and we love that. She has the most fascinating brain and is hilarious. She has no spatial awareness (thanks to being blind in one eye) and cannot howl (only barks). Mac sings along to every song and has a beautiful voice. Rosa tries to join in, and then it just becomes chaos.
But Rosa's anxiety is nearly gone (when it rains and she's inside, or when it thunders, she does still get pretty nervous, but we think that's pretty good). Mac has been the best therapy dog ever for her, without him even knowing it. He is a proper little brother. He pushes her buttons and drives her crazy and then gives her a goofy, loving look and she runs to him and kisses him all over. Their love is the sweetest thing to witness.
Both dogs love our daughter: Mac (who has thoroughly earned his nickname MacCuddles) is finally letting her cuddle him (he was a bit spooked of her when she was too little), and Rosa is very protective of her, but not so cuddly with her -- she takes her job of big sister/mother dog seriously around her.
The two are mostly inseparable, but Rosa recently had to spend some days at daycare without Mac (he had emergency abdominal surgery after swallowing a macadamia nut whole, a story for another time), and she did incredibly well. Watching their relationship blossom has been an absolute treasure, and seeing both of them embrace their cheekiness in our home makes us feel like proud (and sometimes frustrated) parents every day.
I am so excited to be able to share their journey with you and let you in on some of the fun and real elements of pet parenthood, and hopefully connect with readers who have similar experiences. If you are thinking about adopting a dog, I could not recommend it more.