Surprises Like This Are Always Good

At the end of December Schnauzerfest received, out of the blue, a generous donation from a small business that was new to me, Rosie’s Grooming Room, Yarpole.

I’m always intrigued by coinicidences and uncovering threads of connection and as a friend’s parents were visiting our tiny hamlet in SW France from their home near Yarpole, over a thousand kilometers away my interest was piqued beyond the sizeable donation.

It turns out that Rosie’s is named after Rosie Lee who was a miniature schnauzer adopted in 2009 after being fostered by Janet, Susie-Belle and Twinkle’s foster mum and DBARC manager. Rosie was one of the first puppy farm rescues to have cataract surgery whilst at DBARC, 18 months before Susie-Belle had the same and swept like an angel into my world. There’s something thrilling about the circularity of 9 years on, Rosie’s adoptive mum AJ, giving donations and tips from her business (named after her beloved dog who left this world far too soon) to my charitably entity, Schnauzerfest, set up entirely in my beloved Susie-Belle’s memory.

These dogs really do create lasting impacts on those of us lucky enough to bring them into our lives. I’ll let AJ say more about Rosie, her total inspiration,

“Unfortunately Rosie’s eyes were so bad the damage was unable to be fully repaired and she was left with tunnel vision. Rosie was understandably frightened when she first came home with us and spent the first few weeks in the safety of her bed in the kitchen.  Even breakfast and dinner had to be eaten in bed.  Slowly she started to learn from her canine friends and began to trust us.

One day she decided the sofa seemed to be a safe place and that became her home.  Rosie also found that the very middle of our bed was just the place for a Sunday morning lie in.  A small schnauzer can take up quite a bit of room!

Rosie was so funny with her limited sight as she could really only see straight ahead.  It always gave the appearance that she was peering straight at you. She’d go round collecting all the toys and put them next to her on the sofa or in her bed.  When she wasn’t looking, we’d redistribute them and she’d go round collecting them all up again. It entertained her and us!

Rosie soon learned to walk on a lead and went to training classes to build her confidence which she passed with flying colours.

Rosie with proud dad after ‘graduating’

She had excellent recall and we trained her to a whistle so she could hear us even if she couldn’t see us.  She loved running at full speed just for the sheer fun of it and when we whistled her she would arc around to the sound until she ‘homed in’ on us.  Quite often she’d stumble when running at full speed, going head over heels but it never slowed her down, she carried on full of joy.  Her absolute favourite thing was running after a squeaky ball.  You couldn’t throw it too far as it had to be within her sight but it was a game she’d play all afternoon.

Rosie’s ‘partner in crime’ was her best friend Bonnie the Cavalier.  Bonnie was also blind in one eye and completely deaf but they made such a team together.  They were chalk and cheese but as close as two friends could be. I’d often come home to find they had ‘helped’ with the recycling of newspapers or cereal boxes in the kitchen.

Rosie always had the squiffiest, scruffiest of beards in all the photos we have which always makes us smile.  Sadly Rosie left us far too soon leaving us heartbroken.  Our only comfort was knowing the time she spent with us was full of joy and happiness and she never knew fear again.  When I started my own grooming business I named it in her honour.  Our Rosie will never be forgotten.”

She certainly won’t be and I’m delighted to have connected with AJ and have her ongoing support for Schnauzerfest. It seems that as well as our dogs, we have several other coincidental happenings in our respective histories – the world is indeed a small place and the way dogs bring us together never fails to astound me.