Anne Dubé found her true calling in life 15 years ago — simply because she has a love of dogs.
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She is the founder and executive director of Rosie Animal Adoption, a rescue service that runs out of the Pierrefonds Animal Hospital.
“We get home surrenders, pound surrenders, puppy mill surrenders,” she said.
“The phone rings all the time [with] people wanting to surrender their animal or people wanting to adopt an animal.”
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The organization, named after Dubé’s beloved dog, which she rescued at two months of age, is considered a precious resource on the West Island.
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“They told me she was going to be euthanized because of her eye problem,” she told Global News.
“So I took her and she needed her eye removed because her eye was pierced — and she just never left my home.”
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Rosie became the mascot, and the raison d’être of Rosie Animal Adoption, which aims to connect vulnerable pets with loving owners.
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“Some of our other dogs are dogs that have been abandoned in the woods, hit by cars, abused,” said Dubé.
“How resilient they are, how they can still love people after all we’ve done to them.”
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Pierrefonds Animal Hospital vet K.J. Goldenberg adopted five-month-old Ben from Rosie.
“It is so important to have the Rosie staff and volunteers. They rescue dogs that no one else would think to rescue,” he said.
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“They give pound dogs a chance, they give dogs coming from puppy mills a second chance — we need them.”
“Because Rosie works with fosters, they know their personalities. They can really help you match up. They know the right questions to ask.”
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Rosie’s relies heavily on volunteers to keep going.
WATCH BELOW: Meet some Great Montrealers
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#GreatMTLer: Gabriel Bran Lopez, the educator -
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#GreatMTLer: Franca Sparapani, the giver -
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#GreatMTLer: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan -
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#GreatMTLer: Storyteller Roxann Whitebean -
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#GreatMTLer: Kim Reid, founder of On Rock Food Bank -
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#GreatMTLer: Judy Kelley -
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#GreatMtler: Alexandre Taillefer, the visionary with a strong social conscience -
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#GreatMTLer: Fabienne Colas, unstoppable force behind MIBFF -
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#GreatMTLer: Shirley Hunt, guardian angel
“Some of these dogs come in, in terrible terrible shape,” said Zina Hussein, a volunteer at Rosie Animal Adoption.
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“[Dubé is] the epicentre of this rescue, she’s the heart and soul of this rescue. She has the ability to inspire people.”
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Now, at the age of 67, Dubé jokes that she’s ready to retire, but she’ll never give up on the dogs.
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There are so many Great Montrealers around us. If you know someone who should be profiled as part of Global News’ Greater Montreal campaign, don’t forget to nominate them!
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