A Christensen's Coolest Case: Meet Rosie!

Christensen Animal Hospital of Wilmette is pleased to feature Rosie, a 10 year old female lab mix as one of Christensen's Coolest Cases. Rosie's family started bringing her to Christensen when her family found that she had become mysteriously ill and her previous veterinarian could not determine a cause for her illness. Following examination, laboratory testing, and x-rays, Dr. Moll performed an abdominal exploratory surgery. The surgery couldn't come at a more crucial time, especially since he found that parts of her bowel had already become necrotic, meaning that parts of that organ had already died off. Dr. Moll was able to safely remove the diseased organ, and Rosie was able to make a complete recovery. Although no definitive cause was ever identified, the doctors at Christensen suspect that Rosie could have ingested rodenticide. Rosie has since made a full recovery and is able to enjoy spending time with her Mom, Dad and little human brother, Jack. Rosie's family even took the time to share some favorite memories and anecdotes about their family's favorite four-legged family member. Please enjoy the story and pictures below of such a remarkable dog! 

Rosie was adopted from the Evanston animal shelter in October of 2005, where her Mom was volunteering.  She was 2-3 years old at the time and had a rough beginning in her new home. Rosie suffered from separation anxiety every time her family left her at home alone. Eventually she became reassured that her family would return and now excitedly greets her family when they return.

Rosie has no "fur-siblings" but she has a baby human brother, Jack, who she has been great with ever since he was born.  She has let him pull on her lips, ears, stick his fingers in her nose, eyes, mouth.  All in exchange for left overs and for sharing his food that he doesn't want to eat.  She and her brother, Jack, dressed up for Halloween last year and won best owner / pet combo.  She was a bumblebee and Jack was a dinosaur. Rosie is definitely a food addict of any kind.  She is a very friendly and calm dog that everyone falls in love with.  She lies belly up on the couch and will occasionally swat or hit you if you forget to pet her.  She is also very easy to train because she is so food motivated!

Rosie is best friend her family could ask for.  Her family prefers to rent dog friendly cabins in Michigan and Wisconsin when they vacation so they can bring her with.  In the morning, she likes to get into bed about an hour or 2 before alarms go off and snuggle for awhile.  She likes to spoon, especially if it is cold at all.

Rosie's familiy's favorite memories of her are really just the times they spend snuggling on the couch, hanging out.  Most of the crazy stories about Rosie involve all the stuff she has eaten- like corn starch, dried beans, wooden spoons, flour...things you wouldn't necessarily expect a dog to eat. Because she is so food motivated, Rosie was able to catch on to all kinds of tricks very easily. She knows sit, stay, up, down, shake, high five (the last 2 are sort of the same), through (going between our legs), finish (going around our legs), roll, cage, couch, and sometimes leave it (depends on what she is being asked to leave). She is really good on a leash and understands wait and slow.  If you have a good treat or if she is really hungry, sometimes she will try to do all of those tricks in order to get the treat.  She loves all food, especially peanut butter, but also will work for healthy stuff like carrots, apples, broccoli, and banana! 

Rosie's favorite doctor is Dr. Dolan since she was the first one that she met upon arrival. She is also grateful to Dr. Moll for performing her surgery and extending her life. All in all, Rosie is a very special little girl and an incredibly important part of her family. We wish her many years of continued health!