Loss of Our Best Friend

I apologize for not blogging for so long.  I have wanted to write this blog for a while now and just wasn't sure what I wanted to say.  You see, Tim and I had to make a very tough decision a short while back.  Let me go back about twelve years.

My youngest son and I visited a pet store every once in a while, just to see the puppies.  My youngest was home from his first year of college I believe.  While admiring all of the cute puppies through the glass, one puppy in particular caught our attention immediately.  The rather large yellow lab puppy was just lounging around not paying attention to all of the goings on around her.  The store employee brought the lab out for us to hold.

Now, I must add here that we had just loss our German Shepard, Rico, to cancer.  Rico was a very good and well behaved dog.  He was a very special part of the family. 

So, when my son was given the rather large yellow lab puppy to hold, he started to sing the Copacabana song to her.  You know the song, 'her name was Lola, she was a showgirl . . . ".  The lab responded immediately to the singing and 'thump' went our hearts.  Both my son and I fell in love with this rather large yellow lab puppy.  Oh, and if you haven't already guessed, we began to call her Lola!  Even the store employees were calling her Lola. 

One small problem here.  Tim is gone for a few days and had made a commitment to not getting another pet after losing Rico.

So, we left Lola at the store with a deposit and a promise to return with Tim and his approval to add another dog to our family. 

We returned the next day, with Tim in tow, and greeted by all the employees with 'Hi, Lola is waiting for you'.  Oh oh . . . I had forgotten to tell Tim that we had already named her!  So, Lola became a member of our family.

The first year was incredibly frustrating to say the least, one scene after another straight from the movie Marley & Me.  However, as soon as Lola turned 1 yr. old, we had a totally different dog.  Over the next 12 years Lola endeared herself deeper and deeper into our hearts.  I swear there were times that she was as close to being human as, well, a human.  And those who entered into our home treated her as a friend. 

Twelve years of Lola - 12 years of sharing our popcorn with Lola - twelve years of happy tail wagging greetings each time we entered the house.  So many memories of a twelve year relationship with a beautiful Yellow Lab dog named Lola.

And one last video of Lola.  This video proves that Lola sleeps on our bed (which is against the rules)  while we are away.

Lola's Video

Yes, it was a wonderful 12 years, Lola!  We miss your ever-present loyalty and love.