Rosie's story

 

This is a story of how a scruffy, frightened campo dog came into our lives and changed us all for ever.

 

We arrived in Spain last October 2008, with our two orange roan cocker spaniels. Charlie, now 9 and Skipper 8. We had driven  down from the highlands of Scotland without a single problem. The "two boys" were stars and settled into Spanish life with ease.

 

Christmas came and went and we were all having a good time. No more serious rain or snow as in Scotland and a lot warmer, even though the locals thought it was bad, it was a lot better than we were all used to.

 

 Time passed and it was Easter week. That's when the "fun" started. I say fun, it was more of a nightmare. Up the hill from us is a finca that is being renovated and the owners go there weekly to do jobs. One morning we saw activity in the form of tiny puppies. We went to investigate and sure enough six black puppies with curly tails were on the run. The mother dog (Rosie) ran off every time we went near her and so we started to look after them. They looked about four weeks old or thereabouts and were scared of us. Apart from one which we called "The Bruiser" as she was the biggest one and the one who wanted to play. The others followed, if not straight away, but as the days went on they became a little braver. Rosie still would not come within 300 yards of us but watched us intensely from a distance.

 

One day the owner of the finca arrived and said he wanted the pups away and he would just take them and dump them. Not that he is an evil man but they were ruining his crops. I contacted CAS and spoke to Wendy. She arranged for us to collect a large cage from San Fernando vets so at least we could contain the pups. The finca owner was satisfied with that and said we could keep the pups on his property as long as they were in the cage.

 

One evening we were sorting out the pups and Rosie crept around the corner with her tail tucked between her legs. She looked at John, cried a simpering cry and plucked up enough courage to go over to him for a cuddle.

 

Apart from us feeding the pups we had been putting food out for Rosie which she devoured. She then started to come to us each time we tended to the pups. We did "puppy patrol" every 3 hours. Cleaning the cage, feeding, getting fresh water and letting them have a play. Six puppies playing is a handful and Rosie soon learned that she could trust us. She was so crafty that at one point she led the pups in a line down the hill to our house as if it was a safe haven. It was something like you would see in a Walt Disney film.

 

Wendy managed to arrange a foster home for two of the pups. There were four girls and two boys. We chose two girls. "The Bruiser" and the smallest one. The journey to the foster home went O.K. Only one pup was sick. Why do they have to be sick on each other’s head? I said I wouldn't cry when I handed them over, but guess what, I did!! Rosie didn't seem to bat an eyelid as I think six pups suckling was getting too much.

 

So now we were down to four. A little easier so we thought until the next day. Without us knowing, the cage door was faulty and the pups had escaped. We woke up to hear intense crying from a pup. That was it! PANIC! John went up the hill to try and find it and I stayed at the bottom to try and guide him as to where the cry was coming from. And there she was. She had slipped over the edge and was clinging on for dear life. John, not being a mountain goat, managed to climb up and grab hold of her. All the time Rosie was watching what was going on. The puppy was petrified but as soon as he got hold of her she snuggled up to him, licked his nose and wagged her tail. I know you must think this is made up but I promise you its not.

 

Another phone call from Wendy to say two more pups have to go to a foster home and could we take them to the vets. Needless to say "sick" was inevitable. Same thing, all over the head. Did I cry when I handed them over?

Too right I did.

 

So now we were down to two.The two boy pups. We then decided to bring the cage and pups down to our house. We had a shaded area near the garage and our two boys could not get to them. Rosie seemed a lot happier with this situation. We continued to do "puppy patrol" every 3 hours. Rosie then decided one day to lead the pups up the drive and into our garden so they could play on the grass. I was petrified as Charlie and Skipper were there. Now I must say that Charlie and Skipper are as soft as putty but it is always a worry as Rosie may have attacked the boys etc. etc. It turned out to be a big happy family although an exhausting one.

 

Rosie was loosing interest with the pups and usually left us to attend to them. So, when Wendy phoned to arrange for the last two pups to be fostered, she didn't seem to care. She let us take them and has never looked back. And yes….. I blubbed!!.

 

She sleeps in the house with Charlie and Skipper and considering she was a campo dog we have had no "accidents". We have bought a bigger bed for her as she has now grown into the most beautiful girl.

 

Our grandchildren have been to stay with us a couple of times. Evie is four and Freddie is one. Rosie loves them and they love her. If we go to the shops Rosie stays outside in her other bed as she thinks she is the "Guardia Civil" of the dog world and has to protect all of us.

 

They all get fed at 5pm and if we are running late Rosie goes into the utility room where the bowls are and reminds us that its food time.

 

Skipper has always been obsessed with playing ball, morning, noon and night. We've had 8 years of this and now Rosie has learned how to play and loves it. She is only 18 months old so a few more years of ball lies ahead.

 

CAS has been so helpful to us. It is unbelievable what they have to do and the volunteers are heroes.

 

We are so happy that we have Rosie in our lives. Considering four months ago she was a wild campo dog, she is the most loyal, sweet natured, non aggressive animal we have ever met and if anyone reading this is considering taking on board a stray animal we wish you well. In our case we couldn't have wished for a better dog. She has now been spayed, micro chipped, vaccinated etc and has settled in completely with us all. She has given a new lease of life to our boys and we wouldn't be without her.

 

Pam, John, Charlie, Skipper & Rosie