Whatever Lola wants...Lola Gets

Introducing Lola, the feisty little Chihuahua who survived a near-death experience and was saved by Guardian Angel Animal Rescue here in the Detroit area two months ago. I found her on the Petfinder website that links to GAAR. Apparently, she was brought in to be euthanized by someone who claimed to have found her on the street after having been attacked by another dog and left for dead. But the vets on staff that day saved her, stitched her up, and gave her another chance at a long life.

I worked with the foster mom who was taking care of Lola for about 6 weeks -- put in an application, talked on the phone regularly to follow Lola's progress as she healed. When she was almost ready to meet me, her foster mom discovered a lump that turned out to be a tumor on one of her nipples. To be on the safe side, the vet removed it and ran pathology to make sure it wasn't cancer. I waited another 3 weeks to find out whether I could go ahead with the adoption.

Then last week, I got the call from Lola's foster mom that we could meet and see if Lola could come home with me. We met at a neutral place -- Petsmart in Ann Arbor -- so Lola could me both me and Lusso. I was nervous, because Lusso tends to be quite snarky with some dogs and I didn't know whether it would go well. And at first, Lola was really snappy and growly. After about 30 minutes, though, she began to calm down and we decided to take her to my house so the foster mom could see our place and make a decision as to whether Lola could live with us.

We spent the afternoon together, with Lusso and Lola checking each other out, but not fighting or showing signs of rejection. Whew!! The foster mom said she was satisfied  all would be well, and left Lola with us that evening.

Since then, Lola and Lusso have been working out who's in charge. It's really interesting to watch the process. Lusso won't budge on some things, like letting her near his bed; but in general, Lola has the upper paw. Lusso gives way and leaves her alone when she growls at him, and vice versa. During the day, they do play, and seem to get along fine. I'll be uploading more pictures today -- stay tuned!!