Zoe Stanton-Savitz ‘23

Jada is a beloved 10-month-old puppy known for her stylish outfits and her friendly tail wags.

Owner Corinne Rottger ‘22 adopted Jada in July 2021 from One by One Animal Rescue, when Jada was only two months old and weighed about four pounds.

For her first few years at Sarah Lawrence, Rottger owned an emotional support hedgehog named Jazzy but she passed away in February of last year. Because Hedgehogs only live between two and five years and Rottger wanted a longer-term emotional support animal, she began looking for a dog.

“I was on my town Facebook page and someone who fosters dogs in my town posted that the rescue that they worked for had a bunch of chihuahua-pomeranian mix puppies,” Rottger says. “They took a chance on a college student. I’m really grateful for that.”

Since her adoption, Jada has grown to be about ten pounds.

“She’s growing up,” Rottger says. “She’s going through college.”

Rottger says that although Jada was slated to be a chihuahua-pomeranian mix, because Jada is a rescue, Rottger is not completely sure of her breed makeup.

“There’s a lot of guesses as to what she’s mixed with,” Rottger says. “We’ve gotten dachshund, greyhound, giraffe, spawn of satan.”

According to Rottger, Jada helps with her OCD, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and depression.

“Jazzy helped me a lot at the beginning of my time here when I had my roommate and when I really needed a cuddly animal at the end of the night,” Rottger says. “Whereas Jada helps a lot to get me out of my dorm and to get me talking to people and just to have something to care for.”

Jada’s adorable disposition and sweet personality also offer joy to the greater Sarah Lawrence campus.

“Sometimes when people see us out on campus or running around with a stick, they’ll stop and say hi or tell me that they love seeing Jada out on campus or that it makes their day,” Rottger says “That makes me really happy and makes me feel like Jada is not only helping me, but also uplifting the SLC campus a bit.”

Rottger explains that because Jada has so much energy, she consistently needs two walks a day so Rottger is unable to isolate herself in her room.

“I love, love, love running and walking through campus with her,” Rottger says. “Every walk (really, every day) with her is a new adventure.”

Jada is bubbly and active. One of Jada’s favorite activities is running around with a good stick.

“She doesn’t fetch because I’ve inadvertently trained her to basically play keep-away,” Rottger says. “What she does is gets a stick and then takes off with it and then I chase her. Honestly, it’s just too fun to chase her.”

She’s also very indecisive, Rottger says. “She’ll come up to someone and act very friendly like she wants them to pet her but then she’ll sort of dart away. My twin sister describes it as eight tiny reindeer that can’t agree in her body.”

Jada has an adept sense of style. She owns a collection of jackets and sweaters to keep her warm in the winter as well as a little red hat with ear holes.

Rottger says one of her favorite things about Jada is her ears.

“When she came to me her ears were both down, then they were asymmetrical, then they both went down, then they were asymmetrical again,” Rottger says. “She also shakes a lot and her ears make little flappy noises which is my favorite thing”

But perhaps Jada’s strongest asset is her cuddly and lovable personality.

“She’ll lay down on her blankets and roll onto her back so I can give her many, many pets and kisses and tummy rubs,” Rottger says. “It’s really nice to have a dog that will just curl up in your lap. When she was quite little, very baby, she took a lot of puppy naps so she would be playing a lot, and then she would just throw herself down into any available lap.”

Jada’s charm and endless love provide abundant comfort and companionship to Rottger.

“She’s definitely a snuggle bug,” Rottger says. “She’s my best friend.”

Pet of the Week: Jada!