Lola and Crow Spirit
Lola is my dog. A Whoodle—a cross between a Poodle and a Wheaton Terrier. She was born on November 2, 2009. A little Scorpio. She came to me on New Year’s Eve. She'll be fifteen years old on her next birthday. 105 in dog years. She’s had a very good run—and hopefully we have a bit more time together before she goes.
Before I decided to get her, I hadn’t had a dog in a long time. I’d been working in the corporate world, long, long hours. I was concerned that I just wouldn’t be home enough to be a good dog momma. Then I found myself in a juicy work-from-home situation. I had a big, fenced yard and a lovely neighborhood to walk in. Life was stable. Or so I thought.
As soon as Lola arrived and began to size up her new yard, it was clear that Crow was her spirit guide. Every time we went outside, in sun or snow, Crow flew from nowhere to sit on the little fence around my vegetable garden. From that perch, she watched over Lola as she explored.
On our walks through the neighborhood, up and down the hills overlooking the Puget Sound, Crow flew down and hopped along behind us. When we went over to the woodland park near our house, Crow would appear and follow us along the trail.
When the spring came, and Crow became a mother, she would bring her fledglings to us. Lola, playing in the yard, chasing butterflies. Me, working in the garden. Crow brought them tentatively at first, I think to make sure we were allies. Then she’d nudge them closer to get sips of water from my hose. Lola, ever respectful, never chased those little birds.
At first, when Lola was very tiny, I put her in a doggie backpack and drove her over the bridge, onto the campus and into the meeting. After a few months of coming with me to that single weekly meeting, when I went to grab my laptop bag, she’d eaten the strap. The only thing she ever destroyed. I figured she didn’t want me to go again. I joke a bit, but I decided to quit. It was time. My life was shifting and I didn’t know it.
Lola and Crow are Scorpio souls. Full of mystery and here to guide through life’s transitions. From the little ones to the big ones. When I invited Lola into my very stable life, I didn't know that she would be the first of many transitions. Lola was there to guide me through them, and Crow was there to show her the way.
Other qualities Lola shares with Crow are their great intelligence and adaptability. Lola was the teachers pet in her puppy kindergarten class, and as she's accompanied me on my many changes, she's taken to each change with enthusiasm, adapting to each new community on our journey together.
Eventually, I decided to move to LA to be closer to my granddaughters while they were still at an age when I could be an important part of their lives. And I could support my daughter and her husband as they started a new business.
One of the hardest parts of moving, besides saying goodbye to all the wonderful friends I’d made in Seattle, to the sights and sounds I’d come to love, was taking Lola away from her true love, Elvis, the dog next door. That’s another thing about Scorpio creatures, including the Crow: their passion. They recognize deep soul connection.
Elvis and Lola were the Johnny Cash and Rosanne Carter Cash of the dog world. The first thing Elvis did was dig a little hole under the fence so that he could freely visit. Elvis was fond of bringing Lola gifts, including his master's underwear. My friend, who moved into my house when I left, told me that Elvis came by with gifts for Lola for a full year, lying at her back door and whining for his lost love. And she, anytime she saw a dog that looked at all like Elvis, would perk up and hope to find him again.
Before Lola was a year old, I’d moved to another state, and I circled back to the artwork of my younger days, before the husband and the children and the career. Within two years, my husband unexpectedly passed away. I started teaching art again as I did before my corporate life began.
Thinking back to that crow who watched over us, I think she knew that Lola was in training. She was training to be my animal companion through the many transitions I would make during our time together.
Right now, as I write this and as I work on my animal designs, she sits next to me, at my feet. She’s my companion on my walks through a new neighborhood. Discovering new sights and sounds as life continually transforms. And now she transforms. No longer the vigorous pup, she’s an old woman. She doesn’t react to every offense she spots. She’s isn’t easily prodded into doing what she doesn’t want to do. She’s quite picky about her meals. They have to be home-made and she takes her daily green-lipped muscle and turkeytail mushroom powders, and a dose of CBD gummies to help her settle at night. Another transition is in the air. I hope not too close. In the meantime, I savor each walk we take.
