Happy Roonniversary to Roo! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I adopted my sweet fur baby Roo. 

If you follow me on Instagram and my blog you know that I have become a full on dog Mom: always talking about my dog, taking pics and videos of my dog (clearly Roo has an IG), bringing my dog everywhere, etc. 

I never thought I would be that dog owner but I am and I totally own it.

My Dog Background

I had two dogs growing up: Beau, the dog my parent’s got before I was born and lived long after and Belle, the dog we rescued the day after the 4^th of July, 1991. (Named after “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast.)

Beau and Belle overlapped for a year or so and Belle lived to a ripe old age. After Belle passed, I was already out of the house and over time had moved to SF, NYC, and LA: and it never really made sense to have a dog on my own. 

When I moved to LA in late 2017, my then boyfriend had a dog and it got me really comfortable with having a dog as a young adult as I even cared for his dog on my own from time to time.  However, his dog really wasn’t my dog and after about a year I made the decision to get a dog of my own.

So that’s when I started researching dogs on Adopt-A-Dog.com – I even made a visit to Vanderpump Dogs…well because why not?  I lived down the street and figured I’d visit. (Glad I didn’t adopt from there, I mean did anyone see the recent season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? I would not want to be on Lisa Vanderpump’s bad side! HA!)

How I found Roo…

As I continued researching: I saw a picture of Roo (then named “Cozy”) on Adopt-a-Dog – she was in the care of Henry’s Hope Foundation: they brought all their dogs to Pet Food Express in Beverly Hills each Sunday. I knew I wanted to meet her.

That next Sunday I met “Cozy.” She had two sibling that were part of her mother’s litter. Roo’s mom was found on the street while pregnant — so a man took her in and put her in the care of the foundation until she gave birth, then took the mom back as his own dog! The puppies were up for adoption, however. She had big soulful eyes and a gorgeous face. Shy and reserved: she hadn’t grown into herself yet. She was just 4 months old.

Was I ready to adopt a dog?

After meeting her, I had a work trip planned to NYC and took the week to really think about whether I could handle having my own dog. At that point, I was nervous: as it is a huge responsibility and does change your life but I felt confident that I was ready for this new chapter. When I came back to LA, I filled out the paperwork and took her home the next week!

The founder of the organization immediately told me that she would have a beard and she was a puker. (I had already signed the papers so I wasn’t going to give her back…but a a beard and a puker?!) Well she was indeed a puker — something she just finally grew out of (and usually it would happen in cars) and she has grown a little beard — which has come to be something of a statement feature.

When I brought her home, I couldn’t decide on a name for a few days. One morning she was sitting on her bottom and her feet were lifted up which made her resemble a kangaroo — so that’s when her name came to me: Roo. I call her “Roo Roo.”

Roo is 1 year and four months now! She likes: food, treats, walks, chase and wrestle, dog parks, the Wag Hotel, hanging under the couch, belly rubs and her grandma and grandpa. She dislikes: garbage trucks, busy streets, and strangers passing in the hallway. And I even have her working in the family business as a dog influencer for Chewy.com! (Someone has to pay the bills!)

A year later and I can’t imagine life without her. She provides me with endless joy, companionship, and strength during a time that I need it the most.

Now take a look at Roo when from I first got her!