45 BUCKS COUNTY WOMAN
After living in her Newtown home for twenty-five years after her two sons were grown, Debbi Rotenberg finally decided to get a pool. For the dogs. Rotenberg and her husband have five Portuguese Water Dogs. “We tried not to,” she said. “But, they’re like potato chips.” She couldn’t stop at just one.
It started eleven years ago. Rotenberg had two dogs that died. She thought, “Phew, now we’re all done with dogs!” That was until her youngest son, then thirteen, said he wanted a black Pug. But when a friend’s dog had a litter of Portuguese Water Dogs, Rotenberg and her son went to visit them. There were four brown puppies and one black one. Rotenberg’s son relented, saying that perhaps one black puppy was as good as another. And so, because her son wanted a dog, and because he reluctantly agreed to accept the black ball of fur in the litter that day, Rotenberg’s history with Portuguese Water Dogs began.
The first was Roscoe, who grew into a gorgeous specimen with a winning personality to match. “People would stop us on the street because he was so beautiful, so well behaved, so wonderful,” said Rotenberg. “They kept asking us if he was a show dog.” So, Rotenberg and her husband decided to try it. “We found a handler, and she would take him out there, and the bugger would win,” laughed Rotenberg. “He would just win. It was nothing we ever planned on.”
A few years later, Rotenberg got Roscoe a friend – a Portuguese Water Dog named Gabby. Then she got another one named Abby. By then, Rotenberg was learning about dog breeding and allowed Roscoe and Gabby to have a litter. “From the first litter, you have to keep something,” smiled Rotenberg. So there was Dazzle. Then there was another litter, and along came Dozer. And then there were five.
While the breed can come in black, black and white, brown, or even patchwork patterned, Rotenberg’s are all black, with a few random white paws and bibs. They are shiny and spirited, with dark, gentle eyes. When they greet a visitor, en masse, it is like a whirlwind of black fur and curious paws and eager faces. Like a friendly, fleecy tornado. They are all beautiful. To prove it, Rotenberg
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