Before being rescued, Lola’s life could be summed up in one word — miserable.
For eight years, the pit bull was chained inside a dark, dingy garage, where she spent her days lying on a concrete floor. She got no attention, no vet care and she was never let off her chain.
A woman eventually noticed Lola, and she called AMA Animal Rescue, an animal welfare organization operating in the New York area. A team of rescuers arrived, and they managed to talk Lola’s owner into surrendering her.
After everything Lola had been through, no one would blame her if she was hostile or aggressive toward people. But Lola was the exact opposite — she was friendly and sweet, and couldn’t stop wagging her tail when the rescue team found her.
“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 first thing the team did was get Lola to Animal Kind Veterinary Hospital, where she got a few tumors surgically removed. Then Lola went into foster care for a few months before being adopted by Charlène von Saher, who lives in Manhattan.
Lola has been with von Saher for seven weeks now, but it only took Lola a few days to settle into her new digs — and relax.
“She figured out where her little beds were, and what was soft and what was comfortable for her,” von Saher told The Dodo.
She sleeps on the couch …
… and the bed …
… and on top of the outdoor furniture.
Lola will also rearrange things to get extra comfortable, von Saher said.
“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.”
von Saher has even caught Lola sleeping across two dog beds …
… or stacking one dog bed on top of another.
“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.”
Lola also loves the sun, which is something she probably experienced when she was chained up in the dark garage.
One thing’s for sure — Lola has taught von Saher the importance of relaxing. And von Saher has loved seeing Lola become a spoiled, happy dog.
“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.”