Lola - Adopted June, 2009

Lola adapted very favorably to our house, yard, and family. Initially, she was apprehensive about her new surroundings. Over time, she warmed up to us and was adapting to the love in her new home.

She had full run of the house and never had an accident.

She was always at the door to greet us when we came home and hovered around us, especially when we were in the kitchen.

Whenever my wife and I hugged, Lola would join in, jumping up and putting her paws around us, but only with encouragement from us.

Lola became a very loving dog and gave us lots of kisses.

Every night, she slept at the foot of our bed. The night before she died, Lola lied next to my wife with her head on my pillow and had her front paws holding my wife’s arm.

She became a good guard dog, barking at any suspicious sounds. She never confronted the suspicious sounds (e.g., our son coming home or the UPS truck in the driveway). She just wanted to let us know about potential danger.

Lola certainly enjoyed her walks. It was a joy to see her romping around, looking for critters.

On walks, Lola was always cautious about greeting other people or dogs. She would stay away from them, even a very docile Golden Retriever.

Not only was Lola house trained, she was yard trained. She only did her potty business on the walks or in the woods, never in the yard. There was no need to cleanup the dog-logs.

We were able to train her to "heel" and "come" (but only when on a leash). Lately, whenever she heard a car coming, Lola would come to me before I could say, “come”.

Of all our dogs, Lola was the most intelligent and most loving (and most stubborn). She was also very talkative.

It was tough to get her used to the invisible fence. Her strong prey instinct caused her to repeatedly cross the fence (always in different places, never in the same place). We had to increase the voltage on the fence to increase her incentive to stay inside. It was funny to watch her chasing the turkeys (they fly horizontally 2 feet off the ground and Lola chased them). The last time she ran across the fence (with a yelp), she simply sat down and looked for me to rescue her. She finally got used to the fence and we could leave her out for hours at a time.

She did not like to be outside unless we were with her. Hence, we were unable to put her outside to do her potty business. Instead, we took her for walks. One ¾ mile walk in the morning, another ¾ mile walk at 4:00 PM, and 2 block walks at 11:00 PM and 3:00 AM.

Lola was very cuddly, more than willing to allow us to pet her tummy. When I was in a chair reading or watching TV, she would come up to me, put her paws on the armrest, and give me kisses.

I miss her running down the hall, jumping on the bed, and getting licked in the face when it's time to get up.

She was learning how to play with us, her toys, and was beginning to learn “fetch”. She had a very gentle mouth when playfully biting my arm.

Her internal clock was very accurate. She always let us know when we should take her for walks and feed her.

She had her favorite chair in our living room. That is where she curled up during the day. It was the only place where she got on our furniture (we put a sheet on it so that her skin oils would not harm the chair).

One day, we took Lola to the local grocery store in the SUV and went shopping. We came back to the car, put the groceries into the SUV, and returned the grocery cart (it took 30 seconds). In the meantime, Lola got into the grocery bag, opened up the package of pork chops, and took one out. We could not get it away from her – when we opened a door, Lola ran to the opposite corner of the car. Lola ate it, bone and all.

Lola loved to forage in the woods looking for critters. Initially, she hovered around our stack of firewood. Later, she did not go there anymore. Presumably, the mice left. We haven’t had any mice in our house (last year, we trapped about 25 mice).

One day, she tried to sneak into the house with a mole in her mouth. She dug a hole in our yard and caught the critter. My wife freaked out.

Towards the end, she did not want to get into my car (although she would get into my wife’s car). That’s because I brought her to the Vet where they did things like stick needles into her for blood tests. When she saw the Vet clinic from the street, she started whining, indicating her apprehension. She whined the whole time at the Vet.

Here is a story from Pam, Lola’s foster mother:

One afternoon, I went to join the dogs in the backyard. I found Lola standing and staring at me with a bird in her mouth - she must have caught it in flight. It was not a tiny bird, either. It was a Robin or something of that size. I tried to get the bird from her, but she would not open her mouth. Then the clever girl ducked into my lilac bushes where I couldn't fit. I assumed I was smarter than she was and went to get the tastiest treat I could find. I figured she would drop the bird to take the treat. I held it out to her, she stepped out of the bushes just enough to take the treat then swallowed it and the bird in one gulp!
Lola: 2
Pam: 0

She was a clever girl!

Lola passed away on 12/10/2009 due to complications from a heartworm treatment. She was with us for only 5 ½ months but really worked her way into our hearts.