Over the past few years, I’ve warmed up to having a family pet. Our lives are already busy with my husband’s health challenges, my own health journey, caring for family members, running this business, homeownership, etc. I didn’t have any pets growing up in my mom’s home. Honestly, I just saw all the challenges and roadblocks to having a pet. In March, we felt like my husband’s health was making big strides forward (HA! They have but just not the way we imagined…) and thought that if we found the right one, we might move forward. Due to his allergies, we needed a hypoallergenic pet.

FAMILY PET

As we searched Petfinder and local shelters, we kept hitting dead ends or finding pups that we couldn’t take on for one reason or another. One day towards the end of March, my husband found a listing and we inquired to go see this dog on the next day they were open. We were able to make it work with the doctors appointments we already had scheduled that day. During our meet and greet, she was very hesitant and apprehensive about us. She had an accident and was waiting by the door pawing for the caretakers she had clearly bonded with in her less than two weeks at the shelter.

ADOPTING A DOG FOR THE FIRST TIME

We almost left and said we needed to pass because we were concerned about her ability to bond with my husband even though she had warmed up to me a bit. We instead decided to trust that we could take the time and intentionality needed to care for and help her. They told us she kept her kennel clean and never barked (not true!).

Over the past 4 months, we have navigated far too many vet visits due to a compromised immune system and other illnesses caught because of it. This included recently having puppies prior to being surrendered to the shelter.

I spent the first two nights with her in our basement with a tether to the couch so she would stay put. Then we moved her to our room and she slept in the corner without so much as a peep. Housebroken she was indeed. She clearly had training at some point. We actually believe she was trained to be a service dog or ESA but we aren’t 100% sure yet. They told us she was about 2 years old which seems close.

DOODLE MIX ADOPTION

Lola has grown so much both physically and in her personality since she joined our family. She is a great addition and I can’t imagine life without her. I’ve never been a “dog person” per se but definitely am a “Lola person”. My husband has a dream of training her as a therapy dog. We think she will thrive at this once we help her work through some trauma.

Lola loves being my assistant while I edit/work at home. She loves walks and going in the car on adventures! She is highly triggered by squirrels and bunnies but is slowly work on that along with wanting to protect our home from anything that moves out our bay window. She is truly so sweet when she feels safe. Isn’t that true of us as humans too?

Here are some images from her first four months as part of the family! Follow DHP on Instagram and Facebook to see more of her adventures as she becomes a part of our community.

If you are unsure about getting a family pet, there is so much to consider. In my experience, it meant that I ended up with an amazing friend that I didn’t know I needed.

I am planning to do more personal posts. Especially since my last one was in 2019 when I wrote about feeling like a Chicago Bears kicker.