Lava the Dog: Beginning of the End

Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two crossbreed dogs, Lava and Hela.

It all started one cold winter day at the end of 2020. I was in the UK working in a clinic, and secretly wishing for a dog, as I lost my old girl to cancer a few months before. I have never been “dogless” before. Dogs have been a part of my life since I remember, each and every one of them special in their own way. But I didn’t think my wish would come true so soon, and that it would be everything except what I desired. Let’s just say, my life has never again been the same since Lava knocked on our doors.

One Cold Winter Morning

There I was, resting after a night shift in Orpington, United Kingdom when I got a message notification on my phone from my mum. There was a picture of the most adorable little puppy, sitting on my brother’s working shoes, back home on our cattle farm in Croatia.

I was puzzled! Did they buy a puppy? But we have 4 farm dogs already. We have never bought any dogs in our life, all have found their way inside our home through friends or were picked up as strays. And this was no different. The little pup, soon to be named Lava, showed up at their doorstep, without an explanation. Our farm is in a quiet rural area, and the closest village is at least 5 miles away, too far for such a young pup to walk. We presumed someone must have dumped her, or she was a stray dog’s puppy.

A Character From Day One

On her first day on the farm, as described by my mum and brother, the puppy set out some ground rules. Because, of course, she set out to be the boss. She stole food from each of the bigger dogs’ bowls, and when I say bigger, I mean much bigger. Each was around 110 lbs, while the puppy was barely 10 lbs. She growled and grimaced at them, and they all must have figured, this little one was crazy, better let her have it her way.

Soon enough, she ruled the roost. Despite her size, she was a very determined puppy and no one wanted to stand in her way. She learned how to growl and bark quite early on, curling her lips up and developing this certain kind of unimpressed facial expression that she still has years later.

Meaning Behind the Name

During her first few weeks on our farm, while we discussed what to do with her since she was clearly abandoned, we also couldn’t help but start thinking about dog names. It was a tricky one indeed. Finally, my brother had an idea. Lava! Because “lav” means lion in our language, and lava, as in a hot melting rock erupting from volcanoes, red in color, similar to the puppy’s fur. It suddenly started to make a lot of sense. She was as fierce and strong as a lioness and as temperamental, unpredictable, and persistent as the melting lava rocks.

And so she became Lava. The “worst” dog we ever had. Don’t get me wrong, we do love her a lot, but she is one of those dogs who try to break you. And I mean this literally. Not even two years later, I was wearing a cast on my wrist, and let’s just say, Lava was involved in this incident. But that’s a story for another time.

Puppy Eyes You Can’t Resist

Since then, Lava became the dog we talked about most, not just among family and close friends, but also co-workers, as everyone knew about her and asked how the little menace was doing. There was always some sort of unexpected adventure with her. But we couldn’t deny her beauty. With that regal facial expression, showing a touch of annoyance and ignorance, big brown eyes, and brown-red fur, she attracted attention everywhere we went. She was soon known among all the neighbors, whether they had dogs or not. And around five months of age, she met her best doggie friend Goku, with whom she spent many hours playing.

All in all, it took me quite some time to open up my heart to her and let her in, as she was not exactly an easy puppy and always did the very opposite you asked of her. But now, almost four years later, I can’t imagine my life without her.