Well, it’s that time of year again. Kids everywhere are putting on their fave outfits and trotting off to school for yearbook photo day. In our house, Lollie and I planned for hours.
She lobbied hard to have her photo taken with a spiffy background . . . 
or a cool pose . . .
or an academic prop . . .
. . . but in the end, we settled on a 1950s intellectual look instead:
The results? Beautiful, bookish, and classic:
adopt me!
Lolita’s body betrays her past life as a mother. The curve of her back hints at multiple litters, probably one too soon after the last. If our little girl’s background is any indicator, at least some of those puppies have been sold or gifted into sad lives at the hands of irresponsible owners. Some may be abused, some may be bred, some may end up in the shelter. At the shelter, they may be adopted, or they may not be. And the sad cycle continues.
Lollie is no longer a contributor to the pet overpopulation problem, though. This morning her vet initiated the background bloodwork and tests for her spay. If all goes well, she will have surgery next week.
At the risk of preaching to the choir, I feel the need to state the obvious: having a dog “fixed” is good for the dog, good for the owner, and good for society. A sterilized dog is calmer, less aggressive, and less likely to roam than an intact dog. In fixing your dog, you are taking a stand against the senseless death of 3.7 million animals in shelters each year due to overpopulation. If done while they are young, spaying female dogs significantly reduces the risk of various types of cancer, as well as uterine infections. In males, neutering reduces the chances of testicular cancer and other tumors. Having your pet fixed is a total no-brainer.
Through two simple tactics, we can end the pet overpopulation problem. First, if your animal isn’t fixed, go get it fixed. Immediately. Second, adopt your next pet from a shelter or rescue. Our shelters are full of beautiful, gentle, lonely souls looking for love and a second chance. Just look at Lollie.
Lollie is an incredibly fast learner. Because her energy level is high and she has a hard time figuring out how to settle down, we decided to introduce puzzles to her routine to help her exhaust her mental energy. First up was the Kong (a tough, rubber, pear-shaped toy that is hollow in the middle so you can put treats, food, etc in it). The first day, she merely poked at it with her nose, licked it once or twice, and walked away. She just didn’t understand. The second day, I put some more delicious treats inside and rubbed some peanut butter on the outside to keep her interest. She rolled it around a little until a couple of treats fell out, but again, lost interest. Later that day I tried again, and she went to town on it. She played with it for 20 minutes and got every last bit of treats and carrot bits out. What a little genius-dog.
You may recall that we are slowly getting the wonderdogs used to each other using a combination of leashes and baby gates. Until this weekend, we were using a 4′ baby gate that was essentially a complete physical barrier. Lolita’s enthusiastic tongue could sneak through to lick my fingers or Chick’s unsuspecting face, but nothing more.
This weekend we decided to move to a much more modest gate, so the wonderdogs could sniff and greet over or under the gate in addition to observing each other through.
Lollie interpreted the new gate as a fun game / challenge. She never did weasel her way through it thanks to her big muscular shoulders, but she sure did try:
Dylan McKay and his soul sister, Lollie
Date: yesterday during a 90210 rerun. Location: the dining room “the studio” Feeling: in touch with my beverly hills roots.
Admit it, you’re thinking the same thing as me. Lollie was clearly chanelling her inner Luke Perry (circa 1992) during our photo session last night. She pulled out those soft, brown Dylan McKay eyes, and I instantly fell in love with her just as we all did with Dylan in middle school.
In honor of Lollie’s first full week at Casa Fosterfamily, I am posting some progress notes and discoveries made during our first seven days.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Washington Examiner article
Date: dinnertime. Location: my parlour. Feeling: like dabbling in vegetarianism.
As it turns out, I am a veggieholic. Feed me a carrot, I will gobble it down. A big hunk of cauliflower? No match for me. A crispy kale flake? I will jump for joy. I’m making my foster mom wonder if they need to start that compost pile after all . . .
Recently I read that dogs love nothing more than getting into a rut. There is a calm and secure feeling in knowing when we get up, when the people come home, when we eat dinner, and when we chase squirrels. Rut, rut, rut. There is no danger, and no insecurity.
Last night we celebrated a big milestone. When Lolita and I came home from the evening walk and went to her room, she voluntarily entered her crate and sat down, calmly waiting for me to place her dinner bowl in the corner so she could dine on her evening snack.
happy snacker
Before this point it had always taken a gentle nudge to get her in there, and sometimes some serious antics. Try to picture a grown woman jumping around on a bed holding, and pretending to chew on, a squeaky toy. She leaps through the air and theatrically tosses the toy to the back of the crate, desperately hoping that Wonderdog #2 will be fooled by her charade and bound into the crate after the orange stuffed toy. All the while, she is talking animatedly to Wonderdog #2 in the high-pitched, excited voice generally reserved for cartoon characters and over-enthusiastic parents. More often than not, the woman is wearing rainbow-striped leg warmers and a sweater with holes in it and wondering if perhaps a red cape would help the situation, or at the very least, look good with her outfit. And more often than not, Wonderdog #2 is sitting calmly on a pillow at the head of the bed, wondering what in the world this woman is doing.
In any case, last night we donned our rainbow leggings and celebrated the fact that a routine is emerging, and it’s plain to see that it makes Lola feel relaxed, happy, and secure.
Lolita, Queen of Routine
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
