Category: In Memory Of

Roc passed away August 4, 2023, after a brief illness that escalated quickly. He was suffering so we humanely let him go. The last few years of Roc’s life he became an “inside dog”, which was challenging because for the first 5 years he became very anxious when he was brought inside. He became a Sanctuary Dog and was was taken off the adoption floor to be integrated with all the resident dogs. The last year he actually WANTED to come inside, which was a HUGE success considering how terrified he was to come in prior. He had his own room and he finally got to live the life he should have! Roc had become very afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks towards the end of his life, We miss Roc very much and thank everyone who supported him during his 6 years at Roseys Rescue.

Roc was surrendered to a local animal shelter November 2017, when his owner had an organ transplant and was no longer able to care for him. He has been an outdoor dog all of his life. When we tried to bring him inside, he became very stressed in the new environment and tried to get back outside. He clearly doesn’t like to be indoors, as he will try to get out a closed window.

He gets along with other dogs, but not cats. He is very tolerant of other dogs with high energy levels, but doesn’t like when they jump on his head. He will give a warning but has never shown any aggression whatsoever.

He is the biggest love bug and will climb right onto your lap and let you know how much he loves you. Roc is EXTREMELY sensitive and does better with little changes. Roc doesn’t like when his schedule is upset. It causes him severe anxiety.

He doesn’t make a connection with strangers. He’s too busy watching my every move. Roc is quite content being here and because of his severe anxiety and destroying a house to get outside, he will remain here as a sanctuary dog.

If you would like to help with his long-term care, use the PayPal donate button on Roseys Rescues or gypsydoodle5@hotmail.com. I cannot continue to rescue the dogs set for euthanasia without your kind donations.

Thank you for your support.

Jack passed away in January 2023 after being with Roseys Rescue for 4 years. When we first got Jack he was extremely sick with multiple afflictions and it took 10 months and many many vet visits and treatments to get Jack well. But all that medication Jack received to get him well, also ultimately damaged him mentally and physically. We had 4 wonderful years with Jack and he was only expected to live a few days when we saved him. We decided to let Jack go peacefully from his suffering and at the end he let me know that he was grateful for that. I regret nothing. Jack was a good dog and I am so glad that he got to live inside a home with other dogs and cats and knew what it was to be loved. I miss Jack immensely and I am extremely grateful that he was a part of our lives.

Jack, a 5 year old Pit Bull, who lived his entire life on a chain with no shelter and no one noticed he was deteriorating.
Coming to Roseys Rescue in February, we were not sure he was even going to live through the night, or week. But he surprised all of us and began his slow recovery. 
Jack was surrendered to my vet clinic by his owners because they were not able to care for him. When he was brought into the vets office, Jack was so lethargic and emaciated, yet his abdomen was swollen and tight. After his exam, the vet found this list of problems Jack was dealing with.
1. Heart worm disease. In fact, his heart worms have completely taken over his heart and have traveled to his liver as there isn’t much room left in his heart for them to go. (Caval Syndrome)
2. Congestive Heart Failure- this is suspected to be caused by the immense heart worm load Jack is carrying in his system. He has a grade 6/6 heart murmur. The number of heartworms in his heart is blocking the values from working properly and is causing fluid build up in his abdomen. Jack is currently on three different heart medications to help his poor little heart function better.
3. Lyme Disease. When we first got Jack we pulled multiple ticks off of him.
4. Ehrlicha
5. Whipworms 
6. Anaplasmosis
7. Dehydration 
8. Super thin
9. Anemic
-removed a total of 12 pounds in fluid off abdomen.

Once the vet had the diagnosis, they called me and asked if I could help and take him into my rescue. I quickly agreed and a week later I brought Jack home and started getting to know this sweet guy. 
It didn’t take me long to see why the staff at the vets office wanted to save him. You will never meet a sweeter boy!
So we began the 5 month journey to get him well.
There was some bumps in the road. He developed pancreatitis, started coughing up blood and has been having a skin issue we have yet to nail down. (Biopsies were taken today and sent to pathology).
But slowly we tackled one issue at a time. Jack was put in isolation in my spare bedroom, away from all the other dogs, to reduce his excitement. We were a little aggressive on the heart meds and the meds used to treat the tick borne diseases. We had to have fluid taken out of his abdomen by a syringe numerous times, we gave SubQ fluids to re-hydrate him, we wormed him numerous times, and I began cooking for him every day. Slowly he began to improve, until he started coughing up blood. It looked like a massacre in his room. Jack was declining! We could not let that happen! Not without a fight! So the decision was made to try to give an immiticide injection (heart worm injection) to see if we could kill off some of these heart worms that were strangling his heart. The vet made a call to the manufacturer and after about 45 minutes, came to tell me we had nothing to lose at this point. Jack would die if we didn’t at least try. It was pretty scary, as it’s not a conventional treatment for his condition, but he still had so many other things going on, we had to think outside the box. 
So after keeping him at the clinic for a few days, I was told I could finally bring him home and continue his care. He finally quit coughing up blood, and the color was beginning to come back in his gums. 
Slowly Jack was showing improvement. He became happier and had a little pep in his step!
30 days later, we finished the last 2 heartworm injections and monitoring him while he recovered for another 30 days of rest and only walking outside for potty breaks, for the first time in probably a really, really long time, Jacks gums were a nice bright, normal pink!!!!! 
What a sight for sore eyes!
We were all the while dealing with the lesions that kept appearing on his head and face, but as soon as one outbreak healed, another was right behind it, but worse. Lupus was suspected, since his immune system was so tanked from all the tick borne diseases he had and had been treated. But after another blood panel was taken, the serum test ruled out Lupus. 
So after his 30 days of recovery, Jack went back to the vet for his check-up and see if all these months on the multiple heart meds, had improved his heart murmur. 
Good news! His heart was better! And the final major medical step in his recovery, (my goal) was to get him neutered. So the appointment was made for his surgery to get neutered so that Jack could finally come out of isolation and be with the other dogs and me, where he longed to be. 
Today, Jack was finally neutered!! Biopsies of his lesions were taken and sent off, and the diagnosis was Canine eosinophilic furunculosis. Likely from an insect bite.
So he is now on the last leg of his recovery. He is still on medication to treat the lesions for a few more weeks and then he will only have to take heart medication for the rest of his life. Jack finally is getting to “be a dog”! He has integrated well with all the dogs here and even likes the cats. He has learned so much from the resident dogs and is enjoying life out of isolation.
Our Jack is a true miracle. And ALL of you had a part in his recovery. Everyone who cared for him, fostered him, treated him, donated towards his enormous vet bill, shared his posts, ALL of you. We could not have done this without every single one of you. So I am beyond grateful. And you can look forward to many more Jack posts in the future. 
Thank you doesn’t seem adequate to convey how my heart feels at the amount of compassion that everyone has shown for Jack. 
So he is “Our Jack”.
A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO ~A Country Vet Clinic~
Without the staff of the most compassionate group of individuals all together in one very special vet clinic, Jack could have wound up in the wrong hands and have just been put down because of the extent of his illnesses. But these extraordinary human beings, saw fit to give him a chance. And for them, I am eternally grateful!

In loving memory of Sable, a 4 year old Rottweiler, who was dumped in the shelter on 8/20/15 bleeding from her mouth. I pulled her out of the shelter on 8/27/15. She weighed only 70 pounds. (very thin for her size). We originally thought that it was from trying to eat her way out of an enclosure, but Sable was bleeding from nose and mouth this morning. We rushed her to the vet and discovered she had an extremely heavy heartworm load and the coughing up blood was related to her heartworms. Her heart is enlarged and after seeing another similar case, the vet thinks it may be a worm that died and had a pulmonary embolism or possible Caval Syndrome. Sable was scheduled for her first heartworm treatment on October 8th. Because of her size it was considered dangerous for her. This has already caused one almost fatal thrombotic embolism. Normally we would do slow kill but she also had breast cancer which needed to be removed ASAP before it metastasized. We couldn’t address the cancer until she was finished with heartworm treatments which took 3 months including recovery. She was also be spayed at that time. We were trying to “beat the clock” with this very special dog who is only 3 years old but was severely neglected and over bred. When we pulled her from Columbus County shelter we had no idea of her needs both medically and financial. Sable recovered fully from her heartworm treatments and breast cancer, only to fall gravely ill unexpectedly a little over a year after we thought she was healthy. She developed kidney failure due to the malnutrition and neglect for so many years prior to being dumped in the shelter. Sable passed away April 4, 2017. Sable was very special to Roseys Rescue and we miss her tremendously.

In Loving Memory of Bob (Special Needs Dog) Bob was pulled from Pender County Animal Shelter by Roseys Rescue in May 2018. We got Bob neutered, fully vaccinated, wormed, microchipped and began heartworm treatments for his heavy heartworm load. Bob recovered from his first injection, in July, 2018, but Bob passed away unexpectedly after his final heartworm treatments, August 17, 2018, due to complications from his injections and went into congestive heart failure. Bob had a severe head tilt to the left and deviation to the skull on the left side as well as some scarring under his left ear flap – possible previous trauma. Bob wobbles and walks in circles unless distracted. Vet check determined eardrums are intact so ruled out infection as the cause of severe head tilt, loss of movement and complete facial droop on entire left side of his head. Both of his eyes are fine and he is able to focus, just independently of each other, while he appears to look cross-eyed. So it was determined he was hit by someone early on in his life and was partially paralyzed on his entire left side of head and upper body. This is the first out of hundreds of dogs I have fostered through the treatments, that I have lost from complications after his injections. It was most likely due to his medical issues, Although we are heartbroken over the loss, Bob was very special to us and remains in our hearts today

Luna Belle passed away January 2020 before her 3rd birthday due to unfortunate circumstances. We miss her so much and are so grateful she was a part of our lives.

Luna Belle, a 2 year old American Bulldog, was dumped in a church yard at 3 months old, July 2017, with a broken back and demodex mange, starved near to death. Nursed back to health, we noticed she was extremely flat footed and instead of walking on her paws, she was using her paw and legs all the way to the elbow. With some hydrotherapy, she improved walking on her paws, but we noticed she was hunched over. After getting x-rays, we found her back was broken in 2 places and she will eventually become paralyzed. She wasn’t able to find a forever home. So she gets to stay here to live out her life because no one want to adopt a dog that walks funny and will eventually become paralyzed. We even built her a handicap ramp for the day she will need a wheelchair. Luna Belle, the sweetest puppy you will EVER meet. She is amazing and just watching her “be a dog” is so rewarding, when we know it won’t be for long. She wants to do all the things the other dogs do, and tries to keep up, but she is declining. She’s a trooper and she just wants to be like all the other dogs, so every night I pick her up and put her on the bed with the other dogs. No one wanted her, no rescue would help her, so she will remain here until her life is over. We don’t mind she walks funny or that she drags herself across the floor. We will let her just be “a dog” and enjoy watching her blossom.