Lola

At three a.m., everyone's worry spot, I sometimes think about my dog, Lola, who at this point in the night is securely and warmly attached under the covers to the back of my knees.
She's thirteen years old! Our last dog died at fourteen, and I have always regretted that I didn't do more for her!
So, I think about Lola, the very best pet anyone could have. What would life be without her?
When she was a puppy I took her to work with me and the kids in school helped socialize her. They took her out to pee on a regular basis and we walked her around the neighborhood. She slept in the kids' laps and her very soft fur was touched by many small hands.
I have always believed that to get a good dog you have to pay attention and put in a lot of time. This worked out. From the beginning she had her crate, her best home. When I say, "Get packed!" she immediately goes into the crate. After the first two brutal months of training, she has been perfectly house trained and walks like a pro on a leash in town. She comes when called.
We have traveled a lot in Lola's lifetime. She has gone with us on many road trips and by now she is familiar with pet friendly hotels and rest stops between here and North Carolina. (Dogs never forget!) Once we took her on a plane across the continent and she spent the airborn hours in her carrier beneath the seat, never a bark. She is a perfect guest in other people's homes.
Lola is a short haired dog and there isn't much shedding. She is a self groomer and never "icky". Her eyes are clear and everything about her is sharp and smooth. Nothing about her had to be docked or changed. She has those incredibly soft ears and an expressive tail she wags when either of us comes into the house (I am so glad to see you!) Once a month I take her to get her nails clipped. That's it.
Lola has many voices. In the middle of the night she sometimes emerges from the covers and barks (There's a wild animal out there! Let me out and I will protect us all!) So we carry her from our high bed and let her out to bark at the deer or armadillos or raccoons. And after awhile she whines in a tiny voice to come back into our bed.
Lola has her routines, and she keeps us to them. After breakfast she knows that Andy will be reading the papers and she'll be right beside him on the couch, keeping his hip warm. Then, when the sun is just right in the sky, she'll hop down and bark at the door to be let out on the porch for "rays". If the day is quite cool,she'll want to come in again. "Lola, get a life! I am not a doggy doorman!" we say.
After lunch we must lie on the couch and read the New York Times. Lola is ready!
At exactly five o'clock it's dinner time for Lola and she nags Andy for food and her dessert of a marrow bone treat.
After our dinner she knows it's time to watch the news on T.V. so she barks to be lifted up on the couch. She watches me knit. And after a decent amount of time, she barks to go outside and then scampers to the side of our bed to be put up for the night. Her job is to warm the bed for later when her people will arrive.
I think about getting a new 'back-up dog', because I couldn't be without a dog. But then I think about being non-dog when I did not have to make arrangements for when we're away, not going to the vet, not having to worry about another living creature..
We love our pets! I think Lola will be here for some time. We will cheerfully lift this old beloved friend on to the furniture to where she can no longer leap by herself. We will take her on golf cart rides she loves, and when we take walks on the property we'll be prepared to carry her when she's had enough.
I notice that Lola can't manage steps very well and she favors one leg. Nothing wrong with that expressive tail, though.
So I have that three a.m. worry. What would I do without Lola?