The Rosie Roo Diaries

Sometimes the best adventures begin when you're not looking for them.

Rosie Roo came into our lives completely by accident—and we can't imagine our world without her.

About two and a half years ago, we traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to host a meetup for an online community we had built and managed. During our trip, our friend Krista welcomed us into her home. Just before we arrived, she had adopted a tiny puppy and named her Rosie Roo, a name that perfectly matched her other dog's name, Betty Sue.

The first time Tony saw Rosie wasn't in person—it was on a webcam while we were planning our trip to Detroit. Krista was showing off her new puppy, and that's when Tony laughed and said,

"Aww, you bought me a dog."

At the time, it was just a joke. Looking back now, it turned out to be surprisingly accurate.

When we finally arrived in Detroit and met Rosie in person, she was only about six weeks old. She was full of curiosity, energy, and enough puppy mischief to keep everyone entertained.

Shortly after we arrived, Krista became ill and had to spend time in the hospital. While she recovered, we, along with our best friend Ashly, helped care for Rosie and Betty Sue. What started as helping a friend quickly turned into falling in love with a little puppy.

We had a wonderful visit, enjoyed our meetup with friends, spent time with the dogs, and eventually headed back home to Bluffton, South Carolina. We left with great memories, but we had no idea Rosie would soon become part of our family.

A few weeks later, Amber was texting Krista to check in and see how everyone was doing. That's when we received some unexpected news.

Krista had made the difficult decision to return Rosie to the adoption agency. Like many young puppies, Rosie needed a lot of time, attention, and patience, and Krista felt she couldn't give her everything she needed at that time.

We were heartbroken.

As fate would have it, we were sitting in a Mexican restaurant with another friend who also knew Krista when the message came through. We spent several minutes talking about Rosie and how sad it was that she had been returned.

Then Tony looked up and simply said,

"I want her."

That was all it took.

We immediately contacted Krista and asked if there was any way we could adopt Rosie ourselves. Krista reached out to the adoption agency, and before we knew it, everything was falling into place.

That very weekend, we borrowed Tony's sister's car and prepared for the trip north. When Tony called to ask about trading vehicles for the weekend, he proudly announced,

"I'm a dad now."

Then we hit the road.

The drive from Bluffton, South Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, took about fifteen hours, but every mile was worth it.

Rosie had no idea she was about to begin her first great adventure.

After picking her up, we started the long journey home together. Along the way, we stopped at a park in Virginia so Tony could take care of some work while Rosie stretched her little legs and explored her surroundings. That evening, she stayed in her very first hotel with us—a dog-friendly hotel that even had its own dog park.

Watching her run around, sniff everything she could find, and happily explore a brand-new place, we could already see the little traveler she was destined to become.

By the time we arrived home, she wasn't just a puppy we had adopted.

She was family.

Because we had known Rosie since she was only six weeks old, bringing her home never felt like bringing home a stranger. It felt like bringing home someone who had always been meant to be with us.

More than two and a half years later, Rosie is still our travel companion, our adventure buddy, our source of laughter, and one of the biggest parts of our lives. She has traveled thousands of miles, explored new places, met countless friends, and filled our days with memories we'll treasure forever.

Most people think they choose their dog.

The truth is, we believe Rosie chose us.

And that is where The Rosie Roo Diaries begin.