Rosie, ECAD’s beautiful Golden Retriever, who became known worldwide as “Rosie the Courthouse Dog” passed away on November 12 at the age of 13. Dale Picard, co founder and Executive Director of ECAD, Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, made the sad announcement about “our faithful, loving, hardworking Rose.”
“From the beginning, when she was just a pup, we knew we had something special with our own Rosa Parks who was named after the Civil Rights icon by the students at Children’s Village. She was feisty and smart. She had that knack of knowing just which child in the cafeteria was having a bad time and she would go stand next to him until he had finished his lunch. For years she spent four hours a day at Green Chimney’s in Brewster working in the speech room helping children find themselves, “Mr. Picard recalled.
It was just two years ago that Rosie came out of retirement and was dispatched to the Children’s Home in Poughkeepsie, NY, at the request of the Home’s Director, Dr. David Crenshaw. Rosie subsequently enabled one of their charges to testify in court against the man who had repeatedly abused her. Rosie was the first Assistance Dog allowed by a New York State court to accompany a witness into the witness box during testimony. In order to do this, Rosie learned to lie motionless in the confined space for an indeterminate time, using only her snout to press into the teen’s lower leg to bring calm when needed.
In addition to being a superb Therapy and Assistance Dog, Rosie was also one of ECAD’s top breeders giving them four litters. Her offspring are the living, breathing embodiment of ECAD’s Open Doors Program: among Rosie’s children are Hunter who is with an Autistic Child, Lilly and Compass who are Facility Dogs at Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, FL, Stutz, the Service Dog for a retired US Army Colonel who has both TBI and PTSD. and Eli, a bomb and drug sniffing specialist. Rosie’s good looks and strong work ethic will continue forever as a number of her children are among ECAD’s top breeders.
In honor of Rosie’s life of unconditional love and hard work, ECAD has established “Rosie’s Legacy Fund” to benefit the Open Doors Program. For more information, please visit www.ECAD1.org or www.Facebook.com/ECADServiceDogs
For further information contact: Patricia Robert, 917-664-8092
