My mother and I rescued Lola in 2012 when she was just a few months old. We didn’t know it then, but she would change our lives in more ways than one.
Not long after bringing her home, we learned that she was suffering from debilitating stress around certain triggers. Thunderstorms, travel, and being in social situations caused her this stress and anxiousness. During thunderstorms she would run under my mother’s bed, shaking profusely. When in the car she would pant and shake, even on short trips. Plus, she wasn’t the slightest bit social with humans or dogs. We were familiar with the fact that being antisocial isn’t that unusual for Chihuahuas, but we also knew her likely past abuse and neglect had engrained these deep emotional fears.
We tried prescription medications recommended by our vet. They did calm her anxiety, but the side effects made her tired, depressed, and lethargic. Desperate to find a solution for her that wasn’t a pharmaceutical grade tranquilizer, we did our research on natural alternatives.
A friend of mine was a veteran in the hemp industry and I’d heard he was working with a top-line holistic veterinarian.
I gave him a call to see if he'd learned anything that might help Lola's anxiety. He said they were seeing incredible results with hemp oil for anxious dogs. We had nothing to lose, so we gave it a shot.
The first few days were a waiting game, but her demeanor began to change after about seven days. She was more relaxed and her personality really started to open up. She became curious rather than afraid and became open to new experiences. It was like she was a whole new dog.
Then the CBD oil was really put to the test with a thunderstorm. We paid attention to the weather and got ahead of it with a few drops of CBD oil. For the first time, Lola was able to ride out the storm without having an episode. She was still a little bit stressed, but we found that after a few storms using the oil, her fear of storms rapidly improved. She didn't notice them nearly as much and the stress was easy to redirect with a fun game of fetch or a little peanut butter stuffed into her chew toy. She learned that thunderstorms bring good things - games, treats, and a little extra attention. It was a game changer for her!
Still, she would have a fit of nerves now and again. When they came up, they were hard to work through just like they were before she started taking hemp oil.
We had finally found a product that was helping our sweet little Lola, but we wanted to her to shake the stress once and for all.
We had researched and learned about one of the benefits of "full-spectrum" oil, known as “The Entourage Effect.” We wondered if a full-spectrum oil that could produce The Entourage Effect would finally ease Lola’s nerves.
We looked and looked for a pet-safe, full-spectrum CBD oil but the options were very limited and we weren’t sure about the quality of the products we found.
So, we did what we had to—we founded Lolahemp to fill the void with a high quality full-spectrum oil. We sourced our hemp from a family farm in Colorado and found the highest quality fractionated coconut oil to use as the base. These were two simple ingredients that we believed could change Lola’s life.
And you know what… it worked. The fits went away, and she improved even more than we thought was possible.
That’s why we want to spread the word.
We firmly believe in our product and want to get it into the hands of every pet owner that has a dog who can benefit!
Lolahemp continues this effort by donating a portion of profits each month to participating rescue organizations. This giveback program helps deliver financial resources to cover medical bills and power rescue efforts.
Want to read what other pet owners have to say about Lolahemp? Click here.
[Pictured above: Lolahemp founders Lola and Joey]
