To let you know the kind of dog Lorena is, we will tell you two stories from her past. The first one is from her homeless life. We took her in as she was hit by a car and have dragged since through the streets of Dupnitsa only on her front paws. And when we found out she was breastfeeding, we figured the puppies would have turned out the same as she was – skin and bone. Being disabled herself, how could she take care of the babies?
However, it turned out that there was no such thing. Lorena came along with her fat, cuddly and happy babies, who were obviously born just before some car crippled her. This had not stopped her from caring for them…
The second event is from here. After we helped her raise the babies, the time came to separate them and for Lorena to learn how to use a wheelchair. Our shelter is not suitable for disabled dogs and Lorena stayed in the clinic. And every morning as soon as we put her in her wheelchair Lorena would go outside to her babies’ cage. To stay for a while, to observe them, and only then to rush into her own tasks.
One morning, walking by, someone treated her with a sausage. And in front of our eyes, she rushed to the puppies, with the sausage in her mouth. She wanted once again to share her bite with her pups…
They have been adopted a long time ago. Lorena transferred her care to her friend and roommate, our other disabled dog – Lizzie. Small, meek Lizzy and boisterous and noisy Lorena were inseparable for three years.
Since Lorena regularly does all sorts of mischief, we sometimes bound her to some bench – to both be in the sun and not in the box, and to stand still. We did not tie little Lizzie, but she faithfully stood close to the “grounded” Lorena …. Lizzie is now adopted – she has found the most wonderful people, has a real home, and is very, very happy.
And Lorena is confused. She runs the entire shelter and clinic cell by cell, box after box to look for Lizzie.
Lorena gets attached easily, she will make other friends. Our hope is though that she will instead find her best friends and stay at home with them forever!
Now, about her character and needs: Lorena is about 4 years old (and yes, 3 of them went by with us). She can’t control her pelvic floor muscles, at home she can wear a diaper. However, she doesn’t need to be manually assisted to pee – when she’s in her wheelchair, she does the job herself. Like most dogs with broken spines, Lorena sometimes gets urinary infections. We would love to provide veterinary care for her for the rest of her life.
Lorena is also quite the spunk. We stopped counting the carts she broke, every next one was more and more off-road. She is very devoted. Once she gets attached to a person, she is ready to follow him to the moon and back.
And overall…. Lorena is looking for the person to follow to the moon and back! In return, she only seeks out affection!
We have been looking for Lorena’s people for 3 years now. Share, help us find them!
Photo credit: Lemonade PhotoStories