About My Dogs

Lola Lulu, aka "Lola Lulu of the Desert"

July 2010, 7 months old with pneumonia.

Lola was the first dog that I've owned as an adult.  She was rescued from the Pima County animal shelter in Tucson, AZ just a few hours before she was going to be put down.  Lola was only 7 months old, emaciated, had pneumonia, and would not eat.  I fostered her for a couple months before I became a "foster failure" and adopted her.

The first few months were pretty rough.  She recovered and I was not prepared for a crazy puppy, especially one that had evidently suffered physical and verbal abuse.  Training was a challenge because she was fearful of the most basic commands.  Lola was pretty much afraid of everything in the world.

With the help of a behaviorist we worked through her issues and she has blossomed into the bubbly, silly, and happy dog she is today!  Lola turned three years old in January.  She is a German shorthaired pointer/Labrador retriever cross (which means she is equally half & half of each breed).

Lola loves to go hiking on Mt. Lemmon!

Gatsby, aka "The Greatest Gatsby Ever"

July 2011, after being rescued from a hoarder.

Gatsby was the second dog I adopted and he is a purebred German shorthaired pointer.  He was rescued from a hoarder in July of 2011; about 20 lbs. underweight, covered with ticks, and full of tapeworms.  Gatsby spent a couple months at a boarding facility to receive vet care and recover from the months of starvation he endured.  I began fostering him for Utah's Perfect Pointers  and adopted him only a few weeks later.  Again, I was a "foster failure."  (However I fostered 8 dogs after Lola and before I got Gatsby...)

Healthy, happy, and all smiles!

Today Gatsby is a big guy at around 75-78 lbs. with an even bigger personality!  He has the regal, aristocratic bearing and bold, intensity that his breed is known for, but is also playful, very interactive, and loves to snuggle up with me.  Gats is such a sweetheart and is the cuddliest of all my dogs; especially at bedtime.  He is the only dog who sleeps in bed with me.

Gatsby turned 8 on August 1st (2013) which isn't very old for a GSP; they typically live to be around 15 or so.  He's got more get up & go than most 2 year old dogs.

Side Note: The photo above of Gats grinning broadly was used by Chicago artist Neal Tse in the development of my dog rescue's logo.

Gatsby on a dove.

The Fantastically Funny Mr. Fox

*** Foxtrot's bio is currently being rewritten.  Thank you for your patience.  ~G  





Lemons, aka "Mister Jack Lemon" --- RIP

Lemons was my first English pointer and was an Elhew (read more about them here: http://www.superiorpointers.com/pdf/Standing_Alone.pdf).  Coincidentally he was rescued from the same hoarder who had Gatsby; Lemons was filthy and egregiously infested with ticks the day we got him (in May 2012).  He had been at the hoarder's for about two years; imaging him in this condition for so long breaks my heart even now.  It took me well over an hour to de-tick him (and I'm pretty quick); at one point we had to stop because he started to go into shock.  I stopped counting the ticks when the number I removed exceeded two hundred.

Within only a few days Lemons was feeling energetic and happy (the first couple days he was lethargic and still very anemic).  We took him to the vet for bloodwork (CBC & chem), full tick panel, the works.  Shockingly his tick panel was completely clean!  However, his CBC came back with a very low white cell count.  Lemons also had two external "growths" that resembled wounds that had repeatedly opened up and scabbed over.  Underneath the scabs were lesions that looked like blood blisters.  Subsequent labs came back a week later:  cancer.  It was late stage hemangiosarcoma (vascular cancer); the vet gave him a couple weeks to a couple months to live.  He gave everyone who knew and loved him (which was anyone who'd ever met him) five more months.

Even though I'd only had him for a week or so, Lemons' gentle, soulful nature and sweet temperament had already endeared him to me.  Even bratty Lola was respectful and affectionate toward him from the get go.  Gatsby liked him because Lemons always kept to the rear and politely backed him when they were pointing doves in the yard.  (They did this together every morning.)

Since Lemons had been surrendered to a shelter in Phoenix a couple of years before by his owner's wife (the owner had passed away) we knew that he was 9 years old when I got him.  Considering that most puppies are born during spring or summer ("off" months for hunting dogs) he was most likely 10 when he passed away on October 17th, 2012.

The quality that I remember most about Lemons was his ability to warm the hearts of everyone he met whether it was a friend who visited often or a new friend met while we were out & about.  Everyone instantly fell in love with him.  When it was his time to go, all of my close friends (who were his friends, too) came to the vet's office to be there for him (and probably me, too).  He went peacefully, with his chin on the palm of my hand which was how he liked to sleep.  I swear he would find my hand when I was asleep, just to rest his face on my palm.

May your soul find peace and painlessness on its journey, my dearly beloved Lemons.