Posted on July 05, 2011 by: WayCoolDogs

She was a very large, ungainly dog, looking like a mixture of Weimaraner-Doberman Pinscher. The most remarkable thing about her was the color of her fur, which went from reddish to a sort of yellow ochre (first photo), giving the impression that she had been daubed by an artist who was trying out the various colors in his palette.

Lola had come in heavily pregnant, and a lady had agreed to adopt her, but didn’t want to be responsible for the trauma of her giving birth, although the shelter tried to convince her.  As it happened, the lady was right, because in due time Lola produced six puppies and all of them died, no doubt due to the fact that she was painfully thin, and they had probably not had enough nourishment in the womb.  So she was naturally upset.  Here she was with a full set of hanging teats and no sign of her puppies anywhere.  They tried putting other puppies to her, but she was having none of it. She was in mourning and nobody understood.

Part of her coat, around the tummy and back legs, was mottled, probably another sign of malnutrition, and sure enough with regular food and secure shelter she began to look and feel a little better, but she was still very sad (second photo).  When I started to take her out walking I realized that a big part of her problem was that she just needed some affection, and when I sat on the old cupboard outside she would come straight to me, walk in between my legs and nuzzle my neck as I stroked down her back.

Her gait was still strange though, and she put me in mind of a giant crab ambling forward and veering to one side or the other. But now she was a happy ambler, and fortified with knowing that I was on the other end of the leash and she could come for a nuzzle at any time, she began to show an interest in other things too, shrubs, car tyres, the biscuits I always travel with, and now and again she would perk up seeing other dogs walking in the car-park. It seemed that she had finally conquered her depression, and was ready to begin life again (third photo).

But her prospective owner didn’t come for her.  It turned out that she lived in the country, and was having car trouble, so a member of the shelter staff had offered to drive Lola down that weekend.  But the weekend passed and she was still there on the Monday, and again the next Monday, and I began to worry that they would put her down as she was ‘taking up space’, although as far as the two of us were concerned it was fine because she was now eating well, striding out with confidence, showing a healthy interest in everything and everybody, and looking strong and sturdy (aside from her crab walk which had by now become her trade mark).

Fortunately for me, because I had by now started to hold my breath in dread, the uncertainty didn’t last long.  The next Monday Lola’s cage was empty, and though I missed her, I knew that she would be having a great time enjoying the open spaces and cool breezes on the property of her new owner.

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Guest Post by Cindi Scholefield, a volunteer at the local animal shelter in Kingston, Jamaica. For any donations to Cindi and her dogs, please send to:
Eunice Crompton-Nicholas
c/o
Harry Dufour
9330 Dunhill Drive
Miramar
Florida 33025-3869

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