The Emancipation of Lola
Story and Photos by Sang Koh
I didn’t plan on adopting another dog. All my former dogs were rescues of some sort, and they came with their unique individual baggage. When Roxy passed in September of 2017, I told myself that when I was ready and my life could accommodate it, I would acquire a puppy so I could raise them the NDT way. But as time passed and the loss of Roxy stung less and less, I started feeling the void of not having a canine companion in my life. So the search began, and true to my initial idea, I began my search for a puppy. German Shepherds and Labradors were the dogs on my radar for different reasons, but the more I started going down that rabbit hole and coming to grips with the realities of my current life, I quickly began realizing that my current life wouldn’t be able to absorb a puppy, especially a high drive one from working lines. So I changed gears.
I returned to my rescue dog roots and started seeking out a dog with a temperament that was more suitable for spending long days at home while I was at work and didn’t need tons of activity. Essentially I was looking for a couch potato. Once I got clear on what I was looking for, it actually didn’t take that long before I came across Lola online. She was living with her foster in Texas at the time and after a phone conversation to answer a few of my questions, I went ahead and applied to adopt her. A few weeks later she was on a van on her way to the PNW, and I met her for the first time on Jan 29th of this year. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was getting, but my experience told me that it kind of didn’t matter. Because I know that every dog will eventually acquire the emotional charge of their owner, and that Lola would eventually acquire mine. So the fact that we had never met until that moment was in many ways inconsequential to me. I had a feeling when I saw her photos and a short video of her online, so I went with it. And I’m really glad I did.
Lola has fit pretty seamlessly into the rhythm of my life and is in many ways the partner I needed as my life is undergoing some major changes and transitions. But like many rescue dogs, she came to me with an ambiguous history and the emotional baggage that is usually coupled with it. She is what we in the NDT world would call an “imploder”. When she starts getting overwhelmed, she will freeze, sometimes she will even start shaking. She is the type of dog that is holding back energy, but due to her high threshold it hasn’t manifested in aggressive type behavior. So from day one, I made the conscious choice to take things slow with her. I would move at her speed and meet her where she is, and slowly peel away the layers of suppression by removing the pressure of expectations. And by doing so, I’ve been seeing major shifts in her openness and confidence. She is a different dog compared to the one I met in January, and I continue to see her grow and expand. The longer we’re together the more of the puppy emerges. The future is bright for both of us, and I’m very grateful to be able to share whatever that future is with her.
