Where the ridge would be...

She doesn't have a ridge but she does have a darker stripe down her back... see below:

Rhodie

Did I mention that Nola is part Rhodesian Ridgeback? I love that about her! I only recently learned this and feel ridiculous that I hadn't put two and two together before.... anywho.... while she doesn't have the true ridge (not all purebred Rhodies even have it, did you know that?! those pups obviously wouldn't show, but that's nothing I'm really concerned with to be honest...) she does have a much darker stripe down her back. A photo of that will be my homework assignment for the weekend.

Being part Rhodie also explains her little white paw as this is a trademark trait of the breed.

Here are some fun Rhodie links in case you just LOVE Nola and want a dog like her. Because everyone should. She's great. ;)

Did I mention that the Rhodesian is from Zimbabwe (used to be Rhodesia)? It was fate. Read more about why I love Africa here.

Nola's Family

The girls @ 4.5 weeks old

Bear, the only boy

Mattie, she looked similar to Nola but darker.

Hattie!

(I *almost* went back to get her too!)

Patch, Tara stepped on her when she was tiny and it caused a bald spot on her hip.

Nola's dad, Majra

(half rottie, half shepherd)

Tara (Nola's mom)

(half Rhodesian Ridgeback, half ?)

Tara had eight puppies but only five lived. Four girls, Nola, Hattie, Mattie, and Patch, and one boy, Bear. Nola was identical to her mom and Bear was identical to his dad.

Both Tara and Majra had been adopted from the shelter several years ago. Their person moved and left them in the backyard chained to a tree. He had someone "checking" on them but they were often without food, water, or shelter. Neighbors brought Tara and Majra to their yard. They were both very thin - so thin that they didn't even realize Tara was pregnant. Two days later she had the puppies. They didn't think the puppies would survive since Tara was so emaciated, but luckily most of them did. They were moved to the inside shed that had heat so mom would be comfortable.

Both Tara and Majra were extremely shy probably due to a combination of neglect and former treatment. From all of the research I've done it appears that fear can actually be hereditary so it could be this too... I often wondered if being with Tara had influenced Nola's behavior but after consulting with vets and animal behaviorists and doing my own research, there's a good chance it was inherited.

I'd love to see what Nola's sisters look like... her brother, Bear, lives with the family that rescued the parents. He is smaller than Majra but looks just like him.

Tara and Majra were adopted by a family that lives on a farm in the country.

Flashback...Baby Nola!

Nola Belle

born March 10, 2007

This is the first picture I saw of Nola. She was two-weeks old and had just opened her eyes. I'd been searching for a puppy for months. I had very specific criteria: medium sized, short coat, female, must see parents, not pure-bred. I saw puppies listed on Petfinder and decided to check them out. It was so funny that Nola was lighter in color because while I secretly thought it would be fun to have a "brown" dog, I really did want a black dog since they are often overlooked and are commonly the most euthanized. That fact makes me so sad. All of the puppies were light except for one male, who looked identical to his father. (I'll post more pics of them all.) Nola was listed as "Lena: female." At that point, I knew her name would be Sumi after a little boy I'd met in Tanzania named Suma. Needless to say, the name did not fit her at all.

It took me about a week to decide on her name. It actually originated from "Enola" which I hated both for the name itself and because it made me think of war bombs, but Enola is "alone" spelled backwards. Since the reason I was getting a dog was mainly because my sister had moved out and I was terribly lonely (and I'd wanted another dog since my beloved Brownie the chocolate lab died years earlier), the name seemed perfect. Fast forward about a year and I learned that "NOLA" was an abbreviation of New Orleans, LA. I hate that people think she was named after that, but it's okay. To be honest, I didn't even love the name Nola but it fit her completely. She was so sweet and quiet and perfect in every day (goo goo mush kissy wah wah, I know...). So, where was I... I went to visit the puppies and it was an instant decision. Nola was the lightest in color of all the puppies and I knew she'd look just like her mom when she was bigger. It was important that I know what she'd be like since I have a somewhat small condo with two cats. Tara, the mama dog, was so pretty. Nola was identical to her down to her two white toes on her back paw. Later, I would find out, Nola was a lot like her mom in many ways.

I was so in love with this puppy that I visited almost every week until it was time for her to come home for good. I also started buying all of my puppy necessities and reading all my puppy books. I was a nesting dog mom. (Ok, really lonely... don't laugh at me!) The following picture was taken when Nola was 4 weeks old. Because Nola's parents were rescue cases and the rescuers were ready for the puppies to find homes, they offered to let me take Nola when she was 4-weeks old. I declined for many reasons.

The day before she was officially 6-weeks old, I brought Nola home! I was SO excited! I dashed home from work and drove about 20 minutes. She was SO sweet! J and S (the ones who rescued the parents) told me I was in for it because she had me totally whipped because she seemed so cuddly and laid back when I visited but they said she was always the first to explore, eat puppy food, etc... I didn't care, I loved her to pieces already! I remember driving home thinking how weird it was that I had a dog! I drove straight home, tossed her in the sink, scrubbed her down, and raced to Aunt Emily's house to show her off! Emily wanted to steal her but she settled on taking lots of pictures!

...to be continued...

(Next: Nola's Family)

Re-post

Since there's probably no one reading this blog (please, correct me if I'm wrong...), I'm re-posting this from yesterday.

I'm just as eager as you to see what ends up with this little doggy blog...

Content Coming Soon!