Lola and Lucky

Yeah, so already we're back on the chain gang of dog ownership. I didn't think it would be so quick, but I always knew deep down that there were more dogs to come for us. I am a "dog person" and knowing that there are so many homeless, unloved dogs out there kills me. So I knew we would open our hearts again.

Lucky the puppy came to us about a month after Luke passed. If I already blogged on this skip ahead and read about Lola. Anyway, we were in a PetSmart looking for a ramp for Rumer because she was having so much difficulty getting in and out of the car for her vet appointments. While there, a man came in holding this incredibly cute puppy and as we were ooohing and ahhing over it he told us we could have it, that someone had abandoned it in the parking lot and he had found it under a bush, shaking in fear. So we figured it was destiny, kismet, fate, whatever and we took the little guy home - now that I think about it I believe I have blogged on this already. Damn middle aged brain.

About a week after Rumer passed away, we took a trip to a place in Ennis, Texas called Camp Wolfgang http://campwolfgang.org. Camp Wolfgang is semi-famous in the DFW area because it's founder, Wally Swanson, was apparently a very wealthy, hotshot Dallas lawyer and mover-shaker before he chucked it all to rescue German Shepherds in honor of his beloved Wolfgang. His Wolfgang passed away of almost the exact same thing as Luke (tumor in front of the heart) at almost the same age, 8. So I had read about Camp Wolfgang in the past and had from time to time browsed their website marveling that so many wonderful, beautiful dogs could wind up homeless. So we drove up there on a Sunday, Lucky puking in the backseat (the dog gets carsick like you wouldn't believe). There were over 200 dogs there waiting for a home. Trying to pick a dog under these circumstances is daunting to say the least. The girl who worked there, Ashley, advised us to take a female since Lucky is a male (not for much longer, I say) and she took us around and showed us females in the age range we were interested in. I didn't want to go over 3 years of age and was really looking for something in the 1-2 year range. We ended up choosing two dogs for a "meet and greet" to see how they acted with us and interacted with Lucky. The first dog was kind of hyper, which is to be expected in these circumstances, but she didn't really "grab" us. The second dog clearly wanted to eat Lucky so she was ruled out immediately. We were going to leave as we didn't come with the expectation that we'd be taking a dog home that very day. Ashley mentioned Holly, who I didn't remember. She took both my husband and I back to the kennel where Holly was housed. I had overlooked Holly because she was 4, maybe older, and that was beyond my age range. But my husband wanted to meet her so we brought her out. Amid the chaos of 60-70 dogs barking and jumping and carrying on, Holly was cool and calm. She didn't bark; she didn't lunge; she just followed us calmly to the field. She got on well with Lucky and my son was able to hug and touch her right away while she sat very calmly (and rather regally) by his side. So we brought her home and renamed her Lola. She didn't respond to Holly so I don't feel bad changing her name. And she's named after the tranny Lola of Kinks fame, not the showgirl Lola of the Manilow song. We don't do Manilow. Anyway, she's worked out great. Her only problem seems to be a blazing case of "leash aggression" directed at other dogs which we are seeing a trainer and having her evaluated for tomorrow. She was supposed to start obedience classes on Thursday, but I think she's going to need private lessons first lest she scare the shit out of the other dogs and owners in class. She is sweet as can be but can look pretty fearsome when she wants to.

Having the two of them has been a balm for our hearts. There are still days, just about every day, actually, where I miss Rumer and Luke so bad it's like a physical pain in my body. For years everything has been "RumerandLuke". It was like one word. Now it's Lola and Lucky. You can't help smiling watching the two of them, especially Lucky or the "tiny terror" as he's been nicknamed. Though he's not tiny at all. Last vet visit two weeks ago, he was nearly 30 pounds at 15 weeks. He's gonna be a bruiser. But he's a goofball with a tenacity that I don't think I've ever seen in any other dog. He's like the Terminator or something.

Lucky and Lola; Lola and Lucky. Has a nice ring to it...