My health is failing me. My back paws are somewhat paralyzed. So I asked mom if I could do this entire blog (in case my front paws also fail me) and she said yes! So here’s life from my, Rosie the dog’s, point of view.

I was born a long, long time ago in the May of 2009. May 19^th to be precise. When I was about a month old, I had to say goodbye to my mom. A nice man bought me for his wife as a birthday present! So I was a birthday present! I was so thrilled to be chosen. Unfortunately, his wife was less thrilled. She didn’t expect this surprise, and was not happy at the idea of taking care of a dog. Imagine! Anyway, I was given over to this organization called PAWS who handle doggie adoptions. There I met my foster mom. She took me out for a walk in town and there I was being all frisky and what not. And I caught someone’s attention! My future mom and dad saw me. They obviously got bowled over. They learnt that I was up for adoption that weekend.

Now I haven’t told you this before, but my mom and dad are go getters. So they decided to go and get me! I was very much in demand. My parents knew this somehow, and so instead of arriving at PAWS at 11 am (when it opened), they came at 10:40 am! And this worked, because they were first in line to apply for me. We also had a playdate and we all liked each other. They had a little girl called Tanya who was 3. The day they came to take me home, I was so excited that I accidentally bit Tanya. But my new family took it in their stride (even though at that moment Tanya wanted a cat!) and I got into their car. I was whimpering and fussing with excitement and fear. So my dad held me down during the drive home. That was it! That’s when I decided that dad was my master!

The first few days were a bit of a challenge. My parents dragged me out for walks all the time even though I wasn’t quite ready for those levels of exercise. One day my mom even had to carry me home from Webster’s in downtown because I refused to walk. That was a big deal, because I was already 30 pounds by then!

One of the first things that went wrong was that my mom was allergic to me. So the first couple of months she couldn’t tolerate me anywhere near her. She would clean and mop the floors daily. After the first couple of months, luckily her allergies disappeared. Otherwise I would have had to get rid of her!

I was very full of energy as a pup. In fact, I ran almost as fast as greyhounds. I almost beat them in the dog park. They were not so amused about that. Oh well. I also had so much energy that no less than two long walks a day could keep me calm. Three walks were better. Dad would take me out in the morning and mom in the afternoon. But on rainy or sleety days it would be a real problem because I couldn’t sit still. Then mom would throw the ball across the living and kitchen about 60 – 100 times before I calmed down. Yes, those were the days. Sigh.

Tanya was a good friend, but I was very jealous of mom and Tanya since I wanted all of dad’s attention. This caused a few problems, but luckily my family patiently worked through my mental issues.

My family turned out to be very adventurous and we went on super long road trips. I would whine and strain myself throughout these trips and get myself all tired over nothing. But the first time I saw the ocean, I was mesmerized. I knew I was a water gal right there. I would jump in it, try to drink the water and always get myself very sick afterwards. Oh well, another lesson not learnt. Haha.

My biggest strength was my very loud bark. People saw me and thought that I was so cute. While that was true, I was a cutie alright, but one bark from me changed their opinion about me. They would think I am mean. As if a bark changes anything. Humans are strange. Anyway. My biggest weakness, and I hate to say this but it must be mentioned, is that I get scared very easily. Thunderstorms were a nightmare for me and I made sure that it became a nightmare for everyone else. I would start scraping, tearing things up, scratching up my people. My brains would shut off, it really wasn’t my fault. My mom would sometimes give me a medicine called rescue remedy that would calm me down some.

So while reacting to storms was not my fault, let me tell you about something that was my fault. As a pup I ate everything and anything. Books, toys, clothes, lego blocks, you name it! Actually, come to think of it, that was due to teething pains. So, still not my fault! But I do feel guilty about the time that I chewed off one leg of Tanya’s favorite toy horse. Mom was so mad but Tanya saved me from a whack by saying that she didn’t care (I know she did, I saw her crying later. Ulp!)

Anyway, life went blissful and peaceful with walks, road trips, visitors from India and The Netherlands and friends who would come by and pamper me. Then one fine day, something happened which changed everything! My mom was on the couch and I came bounding in as usual. But there was a basket, in which was a creature! I let out a low growl so that the cat would leave, but lo and behold! It wasn’t a cat, but a human baby! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I stared, growled but the baby was so cute, my eyes got watery and I kissed the baby’s bald head! It smelt lovely. I kept going back every 15 minutes to lick her. The baby joined our pack. Her name was Leena.

Mom was always worried that my loud barks would wake Leena up. But it was the opposite. My barks made her feel safer and she always had her best naps when I was noisy. After all she had heard me while still in mom’s belly! Leena was always very naughty and got into everything. But she was always my little baby. Whenever a visitor showed up who tried to pick up Leena, I would pretend to play with them and position my body between them and Leena so she would be safe. Things settled down again and all was well in my world.

One year a whole lot of people came from India. They were mom’s parents, sister and her two kids, Bunnu and Priyanka. And, guess what, they stayed awhile. Mom and her sis (Noopur) would take me out for long walks and do silly things. I used to love those times. I would drool into Noopur’s eye whenever I could and it would make them both go into peels of laughter! Yes, I am a funny one! The kids Bunnu and Priyanka soon became my buddies and I would pamper them along with Tanya and Leena. They all were bickering over who I loved the most. What a silly question. Of course, it was my Papa! Sadly they left after a bit and I looked for them for a long time. But they don’t live under the upstairs bed, that I am sure of. I checked many times.

Mom’s parents stayed awhile. Nani (mom’s mom) would make some delicious smelling meats in the kitchen. The smells made my mouth water and I would sit begging in front of her. Nani got tired of it. So she asked Nana (mom’s dad) to get me away. Nana played a trick on me. He gave me a chunk of rapadura instead of meat. But, hey, I loved that too. After that day I switched from following Nani to following Nana! Yes, I am quite a foodie, Indian cuisine being my favorite.

After Bunnu and Priyanka left, we got some new family members. They were four chickens! I went quite mad. The chickens had a temporary pen in the middle of the garden and I would spend all day going around the pen and showing them who the boss was. They got the message!

We also once had a small guinea pig called Bugsy. Bugsy belonged to Leena’s school. He came over only a couple of weekends so that he wouldn’t be lonely at school. Unfortunately, the last weekend that he was here, he got really sick. I sniffed his butt and knew that he had stopped peeing or pooping. But no amount of nudging changed the situation, and he died. I was sad, because that was one of the first times that I had actually loved a little creature.

Anyway, life went on. I told you about the dreaded leeches and other home remedies in previous blogs. So I won’t go into that. But let me tell you about this lovely time when Oma came to visit.

Oma was dad’s mom. She was really old. She came to live with us from The Netherlands. She moved slowly and used a walker. I really liked her slow movements. It made me feel calm. So I would always stay by her side during the day or night. Oma was cheerful and forgetful. We took some trips together and had a great time. Oma lived with us for a year and a half. Then she returned home. I was sad to have a smaller pack once again.

Then back in 2019 we went for a long 5 month trip out West. Here I got to show my guarding skills very well. I guarded my humans day and night and made sure they came home alive and well. The chickens lived with the farmer while we went on this trip. We got the chickens home once we were back.

One day in 2020, dad and I decided to take another little trip. I was happy to go with him, but something went terribly wrong. Our bus slipped and flipped over and somehow my one paw got caught under the bus. I ripped around and it got dislocated. But a kind vet took care of it using a sling and I was back to my normal self. However, I did get a lot slower after this.

In 2020, one fine day we went for a long drive to this place with a lot of dogs. We picked up another dog! I was a little excited and a little nervous at the same time. The dog was ok during the trip. He was called Kylo. Once home, he got a little weird. He stole pasta from the kitchen and would hang out in the darkest corner, looking pretty scary. The second day that he was here, he bit little Leena on her lip. And the third morning, he bit me. That was it for Kylo. My humans decided that he was not safe and took him back to the rescue. Thank Goodness!

But then it happened again. Papa went on a road trip and came back. He took us all out to the car. I thought that we would be going on a regular old walk, but what’s this? There was a face peeping out of the bus door. It was Kylo 2!! This was a little pup. Kylo saw me and started peeping and crying in fear. I barked at him and kept trying to get him. The walk was a disaster!

But Kylo 2, henceforth referred to as Kylo Ren, was here to stay! He was Tanya’s dog. We were kept separated all the time in the beginning, but later we were allowed together and formed the perfect team. I would bully, he would get bullied. One thing, though. I never quite forgave Tanya for getting a new dog. I still ignore her and am pretty rude to her. Oh well.

Chickens died, new chickens were added to our group. And then my humans decided to take this current road trip. It’s the 4 humans, 2 dogs and 4 chickens. It’s a bit crazy, but mostly fun. We were all having a blast until my backside started refusing to cooperate and falling over. So its been a hard time ever since. Papa has to prop my back for walks. Mom has been giving me terrible concoctions and medicines. The plus side is that she is spoon feeding me. Yeah, I am a princess. Well my friends, thus concludes my autobiography. I may add more if my front typing paws continue to co-operate. So long!