***For every comment* left on Love and a Six-Foot Leash posts from December 15th-December 31st 2010, we will donate one pound of high-quality dog food to Lollie’s sugar daddy, the Montgomery County Humane Society. Together, by spreading the word about adoptable Lollie Wonderdog, we can find her a forever home.***

As each December draws to a close, I start feeling a little sentimental and reflective, thinking back on the year’s adventures. It was a big year for us at Casa Fosterfamily; in 2010 we bought our first home, I started a new job, and we took in our first foster dog: Lollie Wonderdog.

So to celebrate the year’s end (with an added bonus of catching up any interested readers who haven’t been with us from the start), Here is a brief synopsis of the portion of the year that we have shared with sweet Lollie Wonderdog.

<<A note to the less blog-savvy: you can hold the CTRL key and click on any of the underlined blue phrases to open a new window with the post that is referenced. This is a great way to catch up on Lollie’s past progress!>>

First, a bit of background. We had a specific type of animal in mind in fostering—a pit bull diamond in the rough. The type of dog that has boundless love to give, is gentle and sweet with people, but routinely gets overlooked at the shelter because there are so many other pits available for adoption—ones that are younger, ones that have shinier fur, ones that have flawless complexions. Lollie fit our criteria perfectly. She was a staff favorite at the shelter and had a sweet disposition. But she was super skinny, her face and arms were sprinkled with scars, her fur was dull and yellowed, and her nipples were stretched and red. She was perfect. 

Lollie joined us as a foster at the end of October—a wonderful dog with a sad past and a bleak future at the shelter. Once home, she quickly proved to be housebroken—whew!—and a fast study, quickly settling in to a housedog routine. Still, there was a long way to go. She had to learn to play with toys, eat snacks, and solve puzzles.

Shortly after she came into our home, she put the smackdown on pet overpopulation by getting spayed . . . which led to the much dreaded cone de shame. That didn’t keep her spirits down for long, though.

Being the charismatic dog that she is, she insisted on frequent baths so that she could always be ready for media attention—both online and television.

Despite the outward appearance of a well-adjusted dog, she was still catching up on simple things. For example, she had to learn how to snuggle to show her affection. With that out of the way, she also learned how to dance.

Every step of the way, she amazed us with how quickly she learns. We always thought our own wonderdog Chick is the smartest dog on the planet, but Lollie learns new things about five times faster than he did. Pleased with her appearance and behavior, Lollie insisted that we go out on the town to show the world what a perfect companion she is (an activity that would have been terrifying and overwhelming to her at first, when she would spook at any loud noise).

As time goes on, she continues to come up with new ways to make us laugh and share her love, like this, this, and this.

When she met Santa a few weeks ago, she asked him for a real forever family for Christmas. So far Santa has not delivered, but we keep telling her that if she is patient, the right family is sure to come along. Could YOU make Lollie’s Christmas wish come true? Find out here!

*limit 250lbs of food