Lulu Belle
 

This is my foster Lulu :D

I would so scoop her up if you were closer. I share her on fb and think she is just a doll. hope she finds her fureva home soon.

Thank you so much for sharing her. She has so many people from far away that would adopt but we cant seem to find a good home near southern ca :confused:

She is adorable.

I just love her... :)

What a little sweetheart!

Thanks everyone...she is a special little girl no doubt!

So cute! I saw Patti post about her in fb too. What's her story?

Her story does not easily fit in a nutshell :D
She was a stray with a pack of 9-13 dogs. She was the last one they picked up and it took the dog catcher a month to get her. All her pack mates were picked up easily within a couple days and adopted out quickly with the San Diego humane society. The details I got were vague but she was with mom, siblings and others. Anyway Lulu spent a month on the streets evading the dog catcher living alone. They picked her up at 4.5 months...feral as can be. They had their behaviorists work with her for a month but she wouldnt come around. She was turned over to YTNR. I have had her 6 months. I have had many abused dogs and Lulu is very different she is not timid or shy or acts abused in any way...she just doesnt want people to touch or get near her. She gets alot of applicants because she is cute but people have a hard time connecting to her. I think when a dog has been abused people feel bad and are willing to excuse things but with Lulu she comes across as a bit snobby(no other way to describe) she prances around in front of you and stares at you but wont allow you to touch her. She is very smart and seems to predict easily what people will do. Most people feel frustration when they meet her :( We can only touch her a little here and there and very much only on her terms.

She is adorable and hopefully you will find the perfect home for her.

I love reading Lulu's updates on Facebook! She is absolutely adorable. I've been wondering why she hasn't been adopted yet. Thanks for telling us her story. I understand you're just fostering her, and I know that I only see a small portion of her everyday life. But she seems genuinely happy in your home & I love the way she interacts with your other dogs. The licking video was too cute! You're such a patient & gracious mommy to her. I truly hope she finds a home as loving as yours.

She will find the perfect home and Im in no hurry she stay with us as long as it takes...I love her to death

Thanks for following her on facebook :)
She is happy here but she is also just a super happy dog. If my dogs were younger and more playful I would keep her in a second. She wants so bad to play and they are both seniors. I try take her to dog parks or other places to socialize away from mine because she is so bonded to them. She loves all dogs and is so sweet with every single one of them. She has such a happy funny personality...you can definitely see she lived with a pack of dogs because she is so social. She will adjust easy to a new home because she has no connection to people. As long as she has a dog that will play and love her she is content....and a yard...she loves to be outside.
I never even had to potty train Lulu...she just went out the dog door and went potty outside....crazy for a 6 month old puppy! Never had this happen with any dog. I usually have to help dogs learn how to use the dog door. She is so smart!

She is so precious.....her story is so sad, with no human companionship! Hopefully the right family will come along and welcome her with open arms. She looks so cuddly.....

I know it is sad however after fostering for many years I have taken in so many abused dogs and its heartbreaking how cruel people can be. There is no way to know what lulu went through her first 5 months of life but she was with her mom and siblings and I dont think based on her reaction to people that she was around people at all. So at least its likely no ever hurt her and although didnt have human companionship she had her dog family and Im sure was happy and loved by them based on her social skills. With the exeption of them catching her family and her being alone for a few weeks I think was fine. The humane society had known about the pack and had been leaving food and water for them until they caught them and it was also in the summer so they werent cold. She really is fortunate she was rescued young and has a whole happy life ahead of her. I do think she will come around with people it will just be on her terms. In the last month we have seen her trying to be closer to us so I think she will be fine.

Wow. Ok I remember Patti mentioning her story to me before. That is crazy but glad to hear she is making good progress with you. The hardest part of fostering for me is interviewing people, and for me it would be SO hard to keep having to talk to all these people and have them not be the right family.

Here: https://www.facebook.com/misslulubelle12

You'll fall in love with her even more when you see her page. :heart to

ahh such a cutie and she has been getting a lot of exposure. I saw somewhere where is said she was about 10 lbs is that accurate, she looks a lot smaller. Also what happens when you manage to pick her up does she bite or cower. Since she is so playful does she fetch or just prefer racing around with other dogs. Sorry for so many questions just trying to get a sense of her.

Yes this has been my hardest part with Lulu...I dont usually have to interview as many as I have with her. I have met four in person and they all spent alot of time with Lulu trying to decide which is fine I want people to be sure but all 4 of these people I had very long phone convos with and described Lulu very thoroughly. All came to the conclusion they really wanted a lap dog that was affectionate after meeting her???? Thats frustrating since I told you on the phone she doesnt allow people to touch her....why do you need 3 hours of my night to confirm it :confused:

Thank you :)

I dont mind the questions...she is very different than any dog Ive ever met and she is very interesting.
In the first couple months we were advised by a behaviorist to not touch her unless we had too for grooming, meds or whatever. The behaviorist wanted her to develop trust naturally with us. She also was very difficult to catch she darts and runs fast like a wild squirrel so catching or trapping her was stressful for her and us. We had to give her meds once a day so we would try to close a door to a room and trap her in the room. Once she knew she couldnt run she does nothing. She would freeze and i could pick her up...then she would almost immediately pee, poop and vomit everytime. After that couple months she the pee, poop and such stopped but she was stiff like a board to hold. She has never tried to bite me. She didnt cower ever in the beginning but now she is. We taught her the "stop" command and she does it so now I can say stop and go pick her up she then cowers like I will kill her. She lets me comb, bath or whatever just fine. she likes to sit right by us now but still doesnt want us to touch her...however it doesnt seem at all like she is afraid of us anymore. She played fetch from day one...she would let me pull the ball right out of her mouth and not run from me unless I reached to pet. She loved the game enough that she was willing to come right to me to bring the ball...weird I know. She loves to run and frequently by herself just runs like a crazy around the yard for 10 minutes. My dogs are old and lazy and wont really run or chase with her. I hope to find her a home with a dog that will cause she would LOVE it!

She weighed 13.8 at 10 months and she seems to have filled out more. I assume she is closer to 15lbs now. I need to go weigh her. She is smaller than most dogs of that weight because she is really stocky and solid. I have heard she looks smaller in pictures than she is...Its hard for me to tell because Im with her daily and take the pictures.

wow she does not appear to be that weight from her photos. she does look so much like my Lola that I keep looking at her. Lola also is not crazy about being touched, and my last one not so much either, they jump back when I would approach, I taught Lola to shake and she is so tentative about it, that she only slightly puts her paw out and then when I go to shake it, she recoils it back. Interesting little dog, but it sounds like you keep trying and don't push yourself on her. That is where my downfall would be I would be force holding her and rubbing her tummy just willing her to open up. Since she has so much energy and sounds smart she would probably take well to agility training and perhaps tricks. How far are you from Irvine?

I go both ways...some days I push and I hold and kiss her(its hard not too) other days I try to give her treats and let her choose if she wants to come near. She is super food motivated. She is also a very social and affectionate dog so I feel its a matter of time before she shares all that love she has to a human. You hit the agility and tricks on the money she would excel and thrive if she had someone do this...and probably bond with them. We try a little but Im not a great trainer and really dont have the time. I want so badly for her to be in a family with someone who would take advantage of her ability to learn and I want a young playful dog for her to live with...seems like not much but she seems to draw people that want purse dogs and that she is not. Not sure where Irvine is I can google it.

Irvine is in Orange County if you don't know where it is you are probably not close then. I don't know how hard this would be to research do but there are trainers out there that look for shelter dogs to train for the movies and so forth. I see them talking on the TV all the time that often the best dogs come from shelters. I am pretty sure that is where Eddy the dog on Fraizer was discovered. I would also think a dog that was not overly needy for humans could be a good be a good match for a trainer that might be working with multiple dogs, which sounds like Lulu might like. she also photographs well. Just a thought since you are in CA to goggle those type of trainers. LOL at this moment Susan Sarandan is on TV talking about dogs she was in a movie with.

I think your right...Im going to research it. lulu would be fantastic at that. I always laugh when I take her picture because I feel like she wants to be a model...but maybe its an actress she wants to be. Lulu goes to Hollywood :p
I am actually on a facebook page for dog productions I will email them and ask if they know where to begin. If you see anything regarding the name of the company that your thinking of let me know.

Irvine is near me. I also heard of an animal acting agency before, but it's kinda more like Barbizon. Like you pay money for their acting classes and they can choose to represent you or not. But acting or not, I think agility training for fun and disciplne would be good for Lulu. I've been meaning to look into something like that for Uni, but just never have.

I have been searching around to see if I can find something...no luck yet. I think its an ideal situation for her.
They have agility training in my park once a week and i was taking her there and sitting through the classes hoping someone would see in her as the super trainable dog smart dog she is. I feel like what I want for her isnt set to high. I want a person who will train her and teach her fun tricks to help her excel in what she is good at, a playful sibling and a yard. She cannot seem to get this applicant :confused: I dont get it. She is attracting people who want an only child dog who they can tote around in a purse. Do I need to rough her look up a bit?

You know what, a LOT of potential yorkie parents want a "purse dog to tote around". Yorkies are not just purse dogs. They are TERRIERS and a lot of people don't get that unfortunately. I feel your frustration. I still think my first foster Katie was the hardest. I interviewed SO many people for her. I thought I would have her forever. But the right family came along. And actually, you've had much tougher cases than I have, so I don't even know why I'm trying to give "advice" LOL.

Maybe you should just keep her. ;)

I will take whatever advise or encouragment I can get :p
I have had tougher than lulu because of the care they needed but they attracted the most amazing people to adopt them! Lulu attracts the wrong crowd lol
Lulu is dream...she potty trained herself, she doesnt bark, she follows every command I give her...if she feels like it! :rolleyes: she loves all dogs I could go on forever. She is a dog owners dream!