Bloom D14207 Hound Mix Minnetonka, MN

Hi my name is Bloom. I am from Minnesota.

From her foster: Meet Bloom! Or actually Lola Gracie Bloom. Why 3 names you ask? Well, only a dog with the most extraordinary story would get 3 names! We'd love to tell you how these 3 names came to be and all about the sweetest girl who is looking for her special forever family!

In August of 2023, Bloom was spotted running around Bloomington as a stray. She was emaciated and scared. The community tried for weeks to get her but she was fast and wouldn't get close enough to anyone. Neighbors started putting food out and she was captured on many security cameras around Bloomington. Eventually, with the help of some kids, a woman was able to get close enough to Bloom near the ball fields and was finally able to get a slip lead on her. She was thin and fearful but obviously very sweet. Bloom spent the next 2 weeks at Bloomington animal control but was never claimed. We took her in as a foster in September of 2023 and decided to name her Bloom due to the city she was found in as well as the fact that we hoped to help her BLOOM!

Bloom knew basic commands, loved to cuddle on the couch, and was spayed. It was clear she had been loved at one point but she was also so thin and fearful, especially of men, that we believed she had also been mistreated by someone. Over the next month, Bloom in fact bloomed! She put on weight and began to show just how sweet she truly was. In October, she was adopted by a wonderful woman who had been following her story. She named her Gracie. Gracie was so loved by her, but unfortunately her cats were not a fan of Gracie and in December Gracie/Bloom had to be returned to the rescue.

Gracie/Bloom was in foster care again and in January The Bond Between was contacted by a woman who saw her posted on their website for adoption. Gracie/Bloom was her missing dog! But her name was Lola...

Last summer Lola's family had to move and were not able to find dog friendly housing for her. They entrusted her to a family member to care for until they could get her back. Sadly, this family member purposefully let Lola loose in Bloomington and lied to her owner that they surrendered her to a rescue in Burnsville. Lola's family searched rescues and shelters but was unable to find her until they saw her listed for adoption with The Bond Between. They desperately wanted their dog back but still did not have housing suitable for Lola. The Bond Between offered their respite program to Lola's owner which allows them foster care for 3 months.

Lola has been in the respite program for the past 3 months. Recently, Lola's owner made the difficult decision to officially surrender her. They had not been able to find housing suitable for Lola and also came to the conclusion that they don't have the ability to give her the training support she needs long term. They want the best for Lola and this decision was made out of love for her.

So now Lola Gracie Bloom is officially on the lookout for her forever family once again. We have learned so much about her in the past 8 months and feel confident in the type of home she needs. Lola is the sweetest dog with so many amazing qualities, but she also has some specific needs that will require a super special family.

First, all the ways in which Lola shines: Lola is potty trained. She has done fine in a crate; however, she doesn't need to be in one because she is such a good girl and doesn't get into anything she shouldn't when left alone. She is super content to just lounge on the couch when you're gone. Or when you're home, she loves to curl up next to you during a show or movie. Lola occasionally likes to play with toys and when she does, she's usually asking for a game of tug. Not surprisingly for a hound, one of Lola's favorite things in the world is to go to Sniffspots to explore, sniff, and run around. It is so fun to see running free - you can just see the joy in her face. Lola is good with kids and her former family had a baby/toddler. She also loves to play with other dogs but can be dog selective (more on that next). She gets along best with dogs her size or smaller.

Now let's get to Lola's specific needs and challenges: Lola can be reactive to strangers (mostly men), unknown dogs, and also cars driving by. She has a loud hound bark and will sometimes pull and bark loudly at trucks driving by on walks or strangers/neighbors/dogs that are too close. For this reason, she needs a strong handler and we generally walk her at less busy times of day. However, she definitely doesn't need walks as long as she has time to run around and explore in the yard. Because of Lola's reactivity, especially if she sees another dog, Lola's ideal home would have a privacy fence and/or land that is private from other people/dogs. Lola is on anxiety meds and will likely always need to be on them. Some of her reactivity can be worked on (and some free training sessions will be provided by the rescue) but her future family should be knowledgeable or willing to learn about reactive dogs and understand that there will always be some level of reactiveness to manage with her. Lola gets along with dogs her size or smaller and she is dog selective with dogs bigger than her. For example, she is best buddies with our Saint Bernard and they love to play with each other, but Lola can be reactive towards our Great Dane. As far as cats, Lola was cat tested with a dog savvy cat and did fine but was not able to live with cats that were not dog savvy and fearful of her. If an interested family has other dogs or cats, we will want to do a meet and greet to see how they would do.

Lola is truly one of the sweetest dogs we've known and can live a happy life with a family who is understanding of her needs and how to best support her. We know her forever family is out there and we look forward to discussing if that could be you. Additionally, if desired, we would love to offer dog sitting to her adoptive family as we would love to keep in touch and also know it can be hard to find sitters for reactive dogs. Lola's journey has been documented on our foster page on both Instagram and Facebook at "The Joneses Foster" if you'd like to see more of her story.