Lola’s existence before she was rescued might be summed up in one word – unhappy.
The pit bull had been tied up inside a dark, dirty garage for eight years, spending her days lying on a concrete floor.
She received little attention, no veterinary care, and was never released off her leash.
Lola was eventually seen by a lady, who contacted AMA Animal Rescue, a New York-based animal welfare group.
When a team of rescuers came, they were able to persuade Lola’s owner to release her.
No one would’ve blamed Lola for being nasty or violent toward others after what she had gone through.
Lola, on the other hand, was nice and lovely, and when the rescue team spotted her, she couldn’t stop wagging her tail.
“We called her ‘wiggly butt,’” Michele Walsh, a volunteer with AMA, told The Dodo.
“She was wagging her cute little tail, super friendly, giving kisses and so happy to meet her rescuers. She let them take her off this chain, and they walked right out with her.”
The team’s first priority was to bring Lola to the Animal Kind Veterinary Hospital, where she had surgery to remove a few tumors.
Lola was then placed in foster care for a few months before being adopted by Charlène von Saher, a Manhattan resident.
Lola has been with von Saher for seven weeks, but it only took her a few days to feel at ease in her new surroundings.
“She figured out where her little beds were, and what was soft and what was comfortable for her,” von Saher told The Dodo.
Whether that place is the sofa, the couch, the bed, or on top of furniture, Lola is finding new comfort in places she couldn’t even imagine before.
“She actually took a throw pillow off of my bed, and put it into her dog bed,” von Saher said.
“When I came home, her head was on it — she literally made herself a little bed in her bed with my pillow. It was like ‘The Princess and the Pea’ — I guess she liked having multiple cushions underneath her.”
Once she even caught Lola sleeping across two dog beds at the same time!
Or stacking one dog bed on top of the other for maximum comfort!
“I was out for a minute, and when I came back, Lola had moved the smaller bed on top of the other bed and put herself on top of it,” von Saher said. “It was hysterical. I couldn’t believe it when I came in.”
After being chained up indoors for so long, it’s no surprise that Lola loves to be in the sunshine.
“I think she looks better and better each day,” von Saher said. “They always say, ‘When you adopt a dog, you’re really saving two.’”
“That’s because you’re taking one, and you’re opening up a space for another dog to come into the shelter or the rescue group.”
“I absolutely adore her,” von Saher added. “She’s added so much to my life already.”
