Lola

Lots of people activity at the shelter this afternoon; visitors, electricians (working on an alarm system) and of course volunteers, stimulating lots of barking. Of course I notice one little blond rump curled on her bed, quietly attempting to disappear. There was no I've had a volunteer walk sign on her kennel, so I went to get a collar and leash, all the while expecting that she would likely be too timid to leave her kennel. When I returned she was waiting at her back door squirming happily and ready to go.

Lola is a beautiful five year old blond Cocker Spaniel from an over crowded California shelter, thus her official resume is pretty scant. We began our outing by racing down the hall having been warned that a test alarm would be set off at any minute! Once outside she "found a shrub" and I had my first surprise - she lifted her leg. Was Lola really a Larry? This happened two more times on our walk. My resident vet had no answer. When we had gone just a little further, Lola began jumping straight up, kind of like a circus dog; I stretched out my arm to keep the collar from pulling on her neck and she jumped toward my hand. What was going on here? I leaned down, she put her paws up and I gave her a hug and pets. That was what she wanted; she wanted that hug to last and last. After a few minutes of this she was ready to walk and behave much more normally. During our walk she demonstrated that she can both sit for treats and come. She is reluctant to go out of sight of the shelter, but on our return, when I saw how much she loved the staff, it could be that she just wants to be within "scent" of them. She is such a sweet little dog and so in need of human bonding, let's hope she finds her new forever person very soon.