Rose has given me a lot of gifts, and I can never thank her enough for them. She came with me to the farm. She saved my life, several times. She battled coyotes, belligerent rams, angry ewes, rabid feral cats and raccoons, wild pigs, stray dogs, heat, cold, ice, mud and snow. She has been kicked by donkeys, stomped by cows, cut by barbed wire, run over by an ATV, saved freezing lambs in the snow, been hit by a passing truck, nearly buried by a snowplow, trapped in snow avalanching off a barn and gotten lost in the woods. She is faithful, courageous, loving, hardy, determined.

I admire her and I love her more than I can say. In addition to helping me live my life, she has given me another gift. She has inspired my return to fiction, “Rose In A Storm,” making a number of dreams possible. She entered my life when I needed her, challenged me to be a better human by training her, and has never failed me. More than any other thing, she made me feel safe on the farm. More women ask me about Rose than any other dog, and she has a connection with women who work that is palpable, something that was very much reflected in the novel. It is not about her, but it would never have been written without her. So I need to say thanks, Rose.You are a remarkable spirit, and I wish I could pay you back a fraction of what you have given me.