Stroll around the neighborhood: The dogs of Bethlehem

The Brown and White took a stroll around the neighborhood and spoke to community members about their four-legged friends.

Nicole Lacherza and Lolo Lacherza

Nicole Lacherza and her dog, Lolo, are South Side residents. Last winter, Nicole adopted Lolo, the first dog of her own, through a nonprofit organization.

Q: Can you tell me the story of how you got Lolo?

NL: I rescued and adopted her on March 1. We got her through the Sato Project, which is a very large organization in Puerto Rico. 

She was from a horrible hoarding situation and was like a street dog. It took a while for her to get used to people, but she and I bonded in two or three weeks. 

When I rescued her, I thought maybe she was around 7 years old. But once I got all her records back, it turned out she’s going to be 11 years old in November. 

She’s very happy and healthy, and now she’s living her best second life. 

Q: Does Lolo have a favorite food?

NL: I boil chicken tenders for her. She eats that with sweet potatoes. She has four or five teeth, so it’s hard for her to eat hard foods. 

Q: What is Lolo’s personality like?

NL: She’s just so funny — I’ve been seeing that she hides her chicken in the couch. But she’s a sweetheart. In the morning, she snuggles up to me. 

She’s my best friend. I believe we’ll find each other in every lifetime. 

I don’t really know much about her upbringing, but I know that she kind of had to fend for herself. But she’s very, very friendly. She does have some trust issues, but she’s a good girl. And once she warms up, she’s just a little cuddle bug. 

Amanda Rivera and Blessed Rivera 

Amanda Rivera, a first-time dog owner, is settling into her new life with Blessed. Rivera shares Blessed’s experiences as a puppy and what they like to do together. 

Q: What is your name and what is your dog’s name? 

AR: My name is Amanda and my dog’s name is Blessed. He is a shihpoo.

Q: Can you tell me the story of how you got Blessed? 

AR: My niece is younger couldn’t take care of him anymore. I’ve had him for about four months and he’s very young and camera shy. 

He’s the first dog I have ever had. 

Q: What’s the transition period of having a new dog like? 

AR: He’s fun and very outdoorsy. He likes to jump up a lot. He dodges your hand sometimes when you try to pet him. I’m training him now. He knows “come here,” and that’s about it. 

He likes to play around in the hallway of my home, we will throw the ball for him. 

Q: Does he have any people? 

AR: Me, I would say.  

Dorothy and Zak

Dorothy and Zak are Bethlehem residents who’ve been together for nearly 13 years now. Dorothy shares her story with Zak and what her furry friend is like.

Q: Can you tell me the story of how you got Zak?

D: I got him from a home in Pensacola, Florida, where he would’ve been put into a shelter otherwise. I got him when he was 8 months old. He’d never been groomed, his hair was all the way to the floor. He was the runt of the litter, but his brother, who lives down the street, is called Little Guy.

Q: What sort of dog is Zak?

D: He’s a lhasa apso and shih tzu mix. He doesn’t like the bigger dogs now, but he’s a very sweet dog. He’s 13 (years old) now and he has lots of dog friends in the neighborhood. 

Q: What’s his personality like? Does he have any interests?

D: He just really likes to cuddle. Until I went away to Singapore for seven weeks for my daughter, who’d just had a child, he used to sleep in the bed with me every night. 

But when I came back, he mustn’t have been happy with me because now he only comes up when it thunderstorms. He likes the dog park but he was never a toy dog. 

I would throw the ball across the floor, and he would go to the ball and look at me to come get it. He’s happy, he’s healthy, he likes when people drop food.

Samuel Torres Jr. 

Samuel Torres Jr. and his dogs, Lova and Nigel, Bethlehem residents. Torres shared how his dogs helped him through hardships and grief. 

Q: Would you just be able to tell me the dogs’ names, just a little bit about each of them?

STJ: This is Nigel, and we estimate he’s about 5 years old and he’s a rescue. Our other dog is Lova, she’s 7 years old. I’ve had Lova since she was like 3 or 4 months old. Her name came from the Spanish word for wolf Loba, and then we changed it to Lova. 

For Nigel, since he was about 4 or 5 (months old), we estimate. I walk them across the bridge and go down when I can. They go into Monocacy Park.

Q: Can you tell me about them?

STJ: They’re active. They usually get more walks but because I’ve been working a lot, they only come out on Sunday now.

They do everything together. They go outside together. They fight for treats and attention together.

Q: Can you tell me the story of how you got Lova and Nigel?

STJ: This girl, I got from my buddy in Allentown, because he had her and she was like nibbling at his daughter, and they couldn’t handle her. I told them I’m gonna babysit her, but she’s not coming back with me. Then I ended up keeping her, and we worked it out. When she was little  she used to get out of her harness and dig under the fence trying to get out. 

With Lova, it was love at first sight. 

Nigel came to me during a cold spell when it was 13 degrees out. My sister dropped him off in the middle of the night, and all I could see was his little tongue sticking out because, since he’s all black, he’s basically invisible at night.

He slept on my chest the night I got him and then he would wait by the heater every day until I would get home from work.  

Nigel was heaven-sent. He came during the last days of my father’s battle with cancer! His third battle. He lost his battle, but Nigel kept me going. The dogs gave me purpose and routine. Animals are so loyal and loving, I hope we can all learn something from them