Photo by Bernadette Russo for The Lafayette

Peter Pruim and his dog, Rose, are frequent customers of Mojo 516 Cafe.

Peter Pruim is a regular at Mojo 516 Cafe. His coffee order is ready as he walks through the door and for his furry companion Rose, a biscuit is waiting.

“Rose loves coming to Mojo because she gets a biscuit and then she gets all this attention from the students,” Pruim said. 

Rose is a seven-year-old border collie and Pruim’s best friend. The College Hill resident and former philosophy professor at East Stroudsburg University spends his retired days with Rose on Lafayette’s campus, either for a game of fetch on the Quad or a coffee date at Mojo. Pruim and Rose were welcomed into the cafe with open arms since their first visit a year ago.

“I sat outside, tied Rose up and nervously tried to get my coffee when one of the people working said to bring her in,” Pruim said. “We’ve been going to Mojo ever since.”

Besides Mojo, the two explore coffee shops around Easton. Some of their favorites are State Cafe and Grill and the Easton Public Market. 

Rose has a reputation on campus for being friendly – and adorable.

“Rose is one of the sweetest dogs on campus,” Lily Kubany ‘25 said. “I love seeing her around.”

“I’ve seen Rose one or two times a week so far this semester and every time it brings a smile to my face and I just get into a really good mood,” Jacob Ingwer ‘25 said. “For that reason I consider both Peter and Rose a part of the Lafayette community.”

In times of loss, Rose has been Pruim’s guiding light. After the sudden passing of his previous border collie, Nino, Rose was an unexpected surprise. His wife, Margaret, visited a farm in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and returned with a small, black dog. 

She was named after Rose of Sharon, a character from John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” that represents hope. 

“She’s such a beautiful creature … she’s so kind and sweet that I feel like I have that feeling every day as opposed to being stressed,” Pruim said.

Rose is a certified therapy dog. She visits the East Stroudsburg University student center on Thursdays to provide support and relaxation to students. 

“I knew that she had this sort of very peaceful disposition and that she really seemed to just love to both give attention and get attention from people,” Pruim said. 

However, Rose, like many dogs, has her own unique and endearing set of quirks.  

“Rose doesn’t fetch the ball, she herds the ball,” Pruim said. “I throw it, she goes to it and then stays by looking at it … wherever I throw the ball, that’s where Rose goes and she stays right there.”

Rose also has quite the morning routine. 

“She’ll sit on the sofa, won’t come off it, even though she wants her breakfast, until I say, ‘Good morning, Rose,’” Pruim said. “And that means come over and get rubbed and pet everywhere.”

“If I say, ‘Come on, Rose, let’s go get your leash,’ she looks at me like, ‘For what?’” Pruim said. “If I say we’re gonna go to Mojo, boom, [she’s] right down the stairs.”