Monthly Archives: January 2011

calling all publicists!

January 6, 2011 By in Lollie 17 Comments

Lollie has a new flyer to help introduce herself to more of the world. Isn’t this perfect for her? 

This weekend we’re going to take it around town and post it in strategic places. The only trouble is, we’re not very strategic. Friends of Lollie, what are good spots to put up flyers like this? We’re thinking pet stores, grocery stores, the library, and maybe vet offices. Anybody have other ideas?

Do you live in the DC area and have good spots where you could post Lollie for us? Email us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com and we’ll mail you some color copies or a PDF file for printing. Lollie will thank you!

a breakthrough and a new friend

January 5, 2011 By in Lollie Tags: , , , , , , , , 24 Comments

Over the past few days, we’ve had a big breakthrough with Lollie. While it only took her a day or two to master the concept of a leash (we suspect she had never been walked on one before), she has always had trouble staying focused on the task at hand in the presence of her greatest all-time nemesis, the squirrel. Last weekend though, we noticed that the anti-squirrel training I had been doing with Lollie was finally starting to pay off.

For a long time, the mere shadow of a squirrel (or the sound of a squirrel, or the shadow or sound of a leaf that looks or sounds like a squirrel) would be enough to send Lollie — literally — into backflips on the end of her leash. It was a state of excitement that wouldn’t diminish for the duration for the walk. It was enough to make her forget to pee entirely.

But suddenly, something clicked. Maybe it was my consistency at not letting her pull toward a squirrel, or my attempts (usually in vain) to redirect her attention toward me, but all of a sudden, Lollie gets only a little excited when her nemesis presents itself. Tonight we were even accosted by two squirrels playing a noisy and flamboyant game of chase around a tree trunk mere feet away from where we were walking, and while Lolita let out a little squeak and a miniature hop, she quickly moved on. I have scarcely been prouder.

Also on this evening’s walk, Lollie made a friend. Her new friend was a stick. To be specific, her new friend was this stick:

Lollie has never showed a strong interest in sticks, even during play. So you can imagine my amusement when we were walking quietly along, and upon crossing the path of a two-foot branch of an oak tree, Lollie stopped, dug in her heels, and let me know that she was not interested in continuing any further.

We stood there in the lamplight for a minute or two, each holding our ground. In the end, we reached a compromise. Lollie would continue walking with me, but only if she could bring her new friend with her. So we walked the remaining few minutes home with her proudly toting her new friend the two-foot oak branch.

I thought that her fascination with the stick was so bizarre that I let her bring it inside and play with it for a while. At first, she whispered sweet nothings in its ear and lovingly caressed it with her tongue:

She even gave it a little play bow: 

Unfortunately, the stick did not reciprocate her invitation to play, and so she did what any normal dog would do to a stick that doesn’t want to play. She ate it.

I guess it was a short-lived friendship, but it was full of passion.

many celebratory headstands

January 4, 2011 By in Lollie 14 Comments

Happy New Year, friends and fans of Lollie!

When we told Lollie we were going to start the blog back up today, she immediately launched into an acrobatic, aerobic, pilates-inspired celebration.

This is the type of celebration she holds almost every evening before bed. Some folks drink a glass of wine and read a book; Lollie does the Pet Me Headstand. What can we say? The girl is an athlete.

We promised you many celebratory headstands, and we do not take our promises lightly. Tell me now . . . is this not the picture of elation?

Happy New Year! Lollie’s 2010 Wrap-Up

January 3, 2011 By in Lollie Tags: , , , , , , 10 Comments

A friend over at the Cleveland Dog Blog posted ten questions to ask your dog about 2010, and Lollie was too lazy to get around to answering them . . . until this weekend. Here you go folks, here’s Lollie’s take on the past year.

Name: Lollie Wonderdog / Age: appx 3 yrs old / Breed: wonderbull extraordinaire / City: People’s Republic of Takoma Park, MD

1. Would you consider 2010 to be a good year or a bad year?

I am lucky to be a dog and therefore have a short memory, so I can enthusiastically call 2010 a good year. I have been so spoiled of late by my foster parents that I have all but forgotten the traumatic, horrid events of what happened to me in the early half of the year and made me wind up in a dumpster, bruised, half-starved, and filthy. All I’m choosing to remember now is the good life at Casa Fosterfamily

2. Is there one particular good day that you had in 2010? Please share.

I have to admit, the day I met Santa was probably the coolest. He was such a magical, wonderful man, and when I asked him for a Forever Family for Christmas, he sagely nodded and said yes, he would grant me one in the new year.

3. Do you have any regrets from 2010?

I had meant to learn American Sign Language, but I just didn’t have the time.

4. How concerned are you about Wikileaks?

About as concerned as I am about whether Justin Beaver lip-syncs or not.

5. If you could change one thing about your home life, what would it be?

I hope this doesn’t hurt my foster family’s feelings, but I’d move me to my forever home. I love my foster family, but I am looking forward to the peace of mind that comes from being in my real forever home.

6. If you were offered a dog toy endorsement deal, what toy would that be, and how would you like to be paid?

Hands down, the best dog toy ever is the “Chase-It” dog toy. My life is pretty good and I don’t need any money, so I think I’d ask to be compensated in donations to my local animal shelter for those poor dogs and cats that are still waiting to be rescued.

7. Do you think Justin Bieber lip-syncs?

Bieber?? All this time I thought his last name was Beaver!!

8. Do you have a celebrity dog crush?

Absolutely. Vicktory dog Handsome Dan is my soulmate—he just doesn’t know it yet. I even have a picture of him up in my room!

9. Do your people parents have a weird habit that concerns you?

This is hard to believe, but they go for entire long walks with me around the neighborhood and don’t sniff the ground even once, don’t chase a single squirrel, and don’t even pee on anything!

10. What song released in 2010 best describes you?

Like my fostermom, I’m stuck in the 80s big time. I think the music of that era really describes me in a way that Justin Beaver and Taylor Swift just cannot. My favorite song is currently Straight Up; it’s the only song that can really make me dance.