Lola Grace

One year ago, Lola Grace joined rescue and what a ride she’s had.

Lola has been poked, prodded and been to an internist… all in efforts to help her live the best life possible. She has been looked at through every opening as we’ve tried to find a fix.

Lola suffers from protein-losing enteropathy and irritable bowel disease. Basically, her stomach leaks proteins and no matter what she eats, she can’t keep in all the good nutrients. Medication helped in the past, but now her body is not responding to them.

Lola is living the best life she could ever live with her foster family Suzy and Scott, now her forever family. Scott and Suzy could not imagine their lives without Lola.

Lola gets homecooked meals tailored to her needs and around-the-clock care. Leaving the house for over two hours can’t happen because of Lola’s need to go outside. Her diet is followed to the letter and never changes. Eating one thing different can make Lola sick for weeks.

Lola is as good as she will ever be and Scott and Suzy are good with that. They love Lola and want whatever time they have left with her to be her absolute best. Lola takes walks, goes for car rides, plays with the other dogs and is loved unconditionally. What a life, Lola Grace. You’ve got it all.

I am tiny and as sweet as can be… but my tummy hurts.

I am 5 years old and have lived with my family since I was a baby. I have been having lots of tummy issues lately and no one could figure out why.

I heard on the dogvine that there is this amazing place called rescue and they have this beautiful lady they call Doctor Larsen.

I told my family that I would like to meet Doc and tell her about my tummy so she can help me. My family agreed, so I packed my bags and headed to rescue.

A couple of people picked me up today to take me to their house to get settled. They told me they would take care of me for a few days and then they would take me out to meet Doc.

I am so excited and can’t wait to update everyone soon.

2/2/21 Update: We knew she was having some digestive tract problems, which is why she was surrendered. We know a little more now.

She has what appear to be gallstones on X-rays. She also has some fatty pockets in her intestines, fluid in her belly that is quite distended and several of her lab values are off.

All of this indicates a possibility of Addison’s disease or a problem with the adrenal glands. Her protein values are very low, which can cause the cells to leak fluid, hence the fluid in the abdomen.

Dr. Larsen called MedVet and went over everything with one of their internists. The staff there wants to see Lola Grace ASAP, and thankfully, we’ll be able get her in today, Feb. 2

Keep this sweet girl in your thoughts and prayers.

2/5/21 Update: Foster girl Lola Grace is looking pretty in her new harness and ready for her upper gastrointestinal endoscopy today. This will allow the clinical staff to get biopsies and check for underlying issues, like inflammation, lymphoma or infectious disease. They have ruled out Addison’s disease. Thank you all for allowing us to care for this little nugget. Please keep her in your thoughts.

2/7/21 Update: MedVet had to keep her overnight for observation. Because her protein was so low, they gave her a transfusion of albumin, which took until about 10 p.m., and then she was resting comfortably.

Her scope revealed some grave concerns. There were numerous abnormalities in her small intestines. The villi are the hair-like fibers that help move the waste along and her’s are much too hard, blunt, red and hemorrhagic.

This could be inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We have had a few dogs with this, but nothing that approaches this severe. If it is IBD, it can be treated with a low-fat diet, B-12 and prednisone.

The biopsies should be back by the end of the week and lymphoma can’t be ruled out yet. It also could be a fungal infection, histoplasmosis, which can be very difficult to treat and even fatal.

2/11/21 Update: Lola Grace is a complete angel. You can’t look at her without falling in love. Even though we know she isn’t feeling great, she is always happy and super sweet. Lola is resting up in her foster home until we receive her results back later this week from her big specialist visit.

3/15/21 Update: Lola Grace has been working hard at getting to feeling better. She found out she has gained 1.1 pounds. May not sound like much to some, but for tiny little Lola, this is a huge step.

4/9/21 Update: Sweet Lola Grace has what is known as Irritable Bowel Disease along with Protein Losing Enteropathy. We have most of this under control with the help of good food and medication.

Lola loves hanging out with her foster momma on the days she works at home. You can see from the video that Lola takes her job very seriously and always gives 110%.

5/27/21 Update: Lola is enjoying a break from the rain. She loves rolling around outside, so she is very appreciative of dry ground!

5/31/21 Update: Lola Grace went to see her internal medicine specialist today. There hasn’t been a huge improvement in her gastrointestinal disease, but she continues to be a happy and sweet little girl.

7/9/21 Update: The odd couple! Lola Grace has some medical issues and foster brother Rodney has taken on the role of her bodyguard!

8/13/21 Update: Lola Grace continues to improve each time she has her blood levels checked. As long as she sticks with her special diet and meds, there are hardly ever any flare ups.

She is an amazing little girl. You wouldn’t even know she had any issues just by looking at her.

Lola is one of those dogs that no matter what mood you are in, she will make you smile. She is the sweetest little girl and always has an excited tail wiggle ready to go.

8/27/21 Update: Foster girl Lola Grace has been doing really well. She is slowly gaining weight and her levels are staying stable.

Lola is the sweetest little girl. She does want to protect her people though and will bark at strange people coming in her house. It’s the cutest little bark and sometimes ends in a little howl.

10/25/21 Update: 9 months…… Today marks 9 months that I have been in rescue and I have come such a long way.

In those 9 months, I went from being so sick that not many people thought I would make it to being a healthy, happy girl.

All these people in rescue believed in me enough to help me through different diets, meds and vet visits to get me where I am today.

As you know, I have irritable bowel disease and protein-losing enteropathy, which means my tummy is a little off sometimes and my body won’t keep in the protein I need.

But now with my new diet, supplements and meds, I am just like a normal healthy dog.

My foster parents are always telling me I am the perfect Bulldog because I have very good manners and always do what I am asked.

I love my foster parents and my foster brother, but…. I would also love to have my very own family.

My new family will need to be very strict with my diet. As much as I would love to eat other food, it really hurts my tummy, so I can’t. I take my meds and supplements with no issues.

I am friends with all other dogs that I meet, but I’m not really one to play. I do love a good snuggle on the couch, though.

I just know that special family is out there for me. Share my story and help me find them!

Love and sloppy kisses, Lola Grace

12/29/21 Update: I turned 6 years old this week! The foster parents threw me a party to celebrate and as you can see, I am all partied out already.