Support Romanian dog rescue in honour of Rob

“I’m speckled!” Rob exclaimed.

It was 2006, on a Melbourne street and Rob was (of course) giving voice to the dappled and very dapper English Pointer passing us by.

It was then I knew I’d found my man.

Our love of dogs is well known, and when he and I reconnected at 24 and started dating again, our combined puppy love sent us both into doggo overdrive.

By 2008 we were volunteering at a shelter every weekend, walking dogs, taking photos and updating profiles to help them get adopted. Rob was my reliable handler while I took the photos. Rain, sun, wind, hail, snow, no matter how long it took, he was right there with me as we walked, trained, and photographed dog after dog, week after week.

When we moved overseas to the Netherlands, we made sure to find a way to help the dogs of Europe, at first in Portugal and later in Romania. We spent many days in a town called Setúbal outside of Lisbon, covered in all manner of dog-related fluids and food, sand and dirt. It was a fabulous adventure and we loved (almost) every minute.

In 2017 our beloved rescue dog Charlie Noodle, whom we had brought with us from Australia, passed away and we were brokenhearted.

An enormous hole opened in our hearts and at first we were too scared to allow another dog to curl up inside. We reached out to an incredible human called Maria who was dedicated to rescuing homeless dogs from Romania.

She told us of a dog living on the street who was being cared for there by a wonderful woman called Elizabeta. The dog’s name was Foxy, due to her amber coat and giant ears. Elisabeta couldn’t take Foxy in, so she would try and help her while she survived on the streets with no real shelter and no food, except what Elisabeta could provide.

Maria asked if we’d be interested in foster caring for Foxy while they found her a home. Since it wasn’t adoption, which we weren’t sure we were ready for, we nervously said, “Yes, absolutely!”

After waiting for more than a month, and a long drive for Foxy from Romania to The Hague, we finally got to meet her and bring her into our home. It wasn’t even 24 hours after Foxy arrived that we had written to Maria and Elisabeta asking if we could PLEASE keep her. This extraordinary dog had settled in our hearts.

By absolute coincidence, Rob and I were meeting with another Romanian rescue dog group the day after Foxy arrived. We drove from The Hague to Belgium to meet a little dog called Byron whom we’d fallen in love with on their website. He had been living outside a supermarket for three days until someone called the rescue.

When we arrived at the rescue house in Belgium there were dogs everywhere and I was worried we’d have trouble finding him. But, of course, where was he? Sitting like a sphinx on the dining table - all measly 3.3 kilos of him and I thought, “Yep, that’s our dog!”

We bundled him up and drove all the way home to The Hague where Foxy and Byron met and immediately became best friends.

And so began our love with the rescue dogs of Romania. Since being back in Australia, we’ve helped many Romanian dogs through donations.

The day before Rob passed away I asked, “How can I honour you, honour your memory? What would you like me to do to change the world in honour of you?”

Rob said all he wanted was to help the rescue dogs of Romania, dogs just like our Foxy and Byron.

Should you wish to honour Rob's memory in supporting the cause Rob felt dearly about, we would be most appreciative.

Gifts received will be donated to the most suitable organisations for helping rescue dogs in Romania.

Thank you for loving Rob.

All my love,

Kate