Jeffers in The Community: Rosie Gives Back to the Arts

Here at Jeffers, we love hearing about our customers and how their animals give back to the community. From therapy animals to companions who offer the same unconditional love they receive, the love of an animal is truly a blessing. Jeffers in the community is more than what Jeffers does to help. It’s how members of the Jeffers family help too. One of the many members of the Jeffers family who shares the love with others is Rosie. Rosie is a beautiful, ten years young, small dog who travels the country calming students as they audition for musical theater colleges. For these students, these auditions are some of the most stressful days of their lives.

Join us as we tell you a little more about Rosie and her mom and how they give back to the community.

Rosie’s Journey

Rosie was rescued at the age of 3 from the Carolinas and spent a lot of her life after adoption living in New York City. Rosie’s mom, Ellen, had quite a challenge accumulating Rosie to her new life. She noticed that Rosie acted nervous, was fearful of eating, and was easily overwhelmed by noises and people. Although adapting to life in the city that never sleeps was difficult for Rosie, Ellen was always there to help ease her nerves. She did everything she could to make sure Rosie was comfortable in her new environment.

Getting to know Rosie and helping her with her fears was a challenge Ellen worked hard to overcome. She bought Rosie a stroller so she would be more comfortable in her environment and could enjoy being outside and around other people more. After getting more comfortable, Rosie showed how much she loves to go places. And as long as she’s in motion, whether that’s in a car or her stroller, she has a blast being out and about.

Rosie’s journey to realizing that she is in a loving environment and being more comfortable around others has paid it forward in many ways. Since Rosie knows what it likes to be anxious and how it feels to be comforted during those times, she learned to provide comfort for others in the same situation.

How Rosie Helps Others

Rosie’s mom, Ellen, is a speech pathologist who specializes in voice training. She uses her talents to coach young theater students during their auditions for theater programs in college.

Since Ellen loves Rosie so dearly and noticed how much she loves to go places, she began bringing her with her to college auditions for theater school. What started out as a way to make Rosie feel more comfortable turned into Rosie comforting hundreds of college students during an extremely stressful time in their lives. When the students notice Rosie’s nervousness, they comfort her by giving her treats and pets, and in turn, it calms them down so they can focus on their audition.

Rosie has traveled across the Midwest and Northeastern United States bringing comfort to others when they need it. She has touched the lives of so many students that members of a coaching organization made photo buttons of Rosie to wear to auditions. The students often describe the pin of Rosie as “Rosie’s giving me luck”.

So, even when she can’t physically be there to help, her presence is still helping others.

Rosie’s Next Steps

Nowadays, Rosie lives in Richmond, VA with her mom where she now has access to plenty of grass and parks to go to. The way that Rosie has given so much back to others is a true testament to how animals give back to those in need as we give back to animals in need.

Ellen’s passion for helping others, like Rosie’s, is evident in everything she does. Her passion for helping theater students has led her to start a non-profit centered on helping underrepresented teens prepare for college auditions. Just last year, the non-profit, The Fund for College Auditions, helped seven aspiring musical theater students receive admission into prestigious theater colleges. This year, they helped six students prepare for and receive admission into theater colleges, which resulted in full-ride scholarships to universities such as NYU Tisch, University of Michigan, and Roosevelt University.

Ellen and Rosie’s goal is to make a very competitive industry accessible to all. With all they do to help their community, we thank them for being a part of the Jeffers family and for sharing their story with us.

Share Your Story With Us

As animal lovers, we understand and appreciate how much animals can affect our lives and the lives of others. From always seeming to know when we need some extra cuddles to offering us laughs when we need them most, animals are truly a blessing, and we are happy to share the story of how a sweet dog named Rosie helps those who need it.

Do you have an animal who enjoys sharing the love with others and giving back? We’d love to hear your story. Let us know in the comments below!

To learn more about Rosie and other members of the Jeffers family, check out Jeffers Customer Favorites: Pet Spring 2021 Cover.