Losing Lola

I’ve always believed that pet dogs are part of the family. You get years of love and fun, but there’s a price to pay at the end of the journey.

We lost Lola, our Black Lab, earlier this year. She just turned 8 years old a few weeks before her time ran out. This seems to be a trend lately.

We lost Milo, our White Lab, at 8 years of age. Friends with Samoyed dogs both lost them at 8 years old. Between the food and the veterinarian’s obsessions with drugs, it’s no wonder. I believe our dogs are being poisoned to death in the name of health care.

Even local laws are in on this nonsense. Rabies vaccines are common requirements and most people get shots for their dogs every year. Some go with a 3-year rabies shot. A veterinarian told us it’s actually the same dose as the annual rabies shot, but they charge more for it to make up for the loss of business.

The truth is that rabies shots and others weren’t always annual requirements. Blame big pharma and the medical industrial complex, but I’m digressing.

That’s because I’m heartbroken and angry that our dogs are dying at 8-10 years old when the same breeds in other countries live twice as long.

Lola’s Decline

Lola was fit, active, and playful. She was my wife’s dream dog. Bright, intelligent, athletic, and happy. Lola was always ready for a game. She ran and pounced all over the place. While Lola may have been the runt of the litter, she ruled the other dogs in our house.

We started to notice that Lola was losing weight. She still wanted to play, but her body became tired before her mind gave up. After a while, we could see her skeleton through her skin.

For a few years, we tried feeding homemade dog food instead of the kibble sold at most stores. The dogs saw immediate improvement when they ate real food. Their coats were shinier. They had more energy. Getting rid of store bought dog food, even the so-called premium brands, was the best thing we’d done for them.

We decided to switch them over to an all-meat diet. That helped Lola for a while. Her eyes were getting cloudy and the meat cleared that right up. She had a burst of energy again and we thought that we may have saved her life.

In the end, we only bought her some time. Perhaps things would have been different if we’d adopted an all-meat diet much sooner, but the signs of decline weren’t yet apparent.

Lola’s Last Night

We had plans for this night, but one look at Lola told us that she may not be with us when we returned. It’s one of those feelings that you don’t want to accept, yet you know it’s true.

There was nothing else we could do. Lola, the lively and active dog, was slow, lethargic, and just wanted to find a comfortable spot.

Not wanting to let go, we thought about remembering her. Lee gave me a wonderful Christmas present that I remembered for Lola before she was gone. It was a plaster cast of my Emma’s (my Golden Retriever) paw.

I realized that we could do the same thing for Lola. I conducted a quick online search and found the answer at Petco, which is relatively close to us.

The Pearhead Pet DIY PawPrints Ornament Kit was exactly what we needed to capture Lola’s paw print before she passed.

Lola was a southpaw. When Lee taught her how to shake hands, Lola always went for her left paw. Even when she was playing with a toy or moving her favorite comfortable things aroun, she used her left paw. Lee made sure she got a print of Lola’s left paw.

Here it is:

It’s on display in our dining room, on the sideboard. Lee still touches it every day. We have tons of photos of Lola and our other dogs, but this was something physical we got to remember Lola. That, and a lock of her hair.

Remembering Lola

We printed many of our photos to keep around the house. Our daughter, Tové, created this pencil sketch of Lola that we’ve framed and keep in the house – not far from the paw print.

We still talk about Lola every day. Sometimes we laugh at the things she used to do. Our remaining dog, Emma, is pretty much the opposite of Lola. If Lola was always in control, Emma is a happy, confused sunshine girl.

I swear that dog sometimes gets a fright from her own tail, but we love her.

Lola was a bit of a mother hen to protect Emma, and even Milo, who passed five years earlier.

When you get a puppy, you don’t always know what you’re getting. With Lola, we got a great dog who left us with a lot of happy memories. If you’ve lost a beloved pet, I hope this post gives you some ideas on how to preserve memories.