Trish and Seamas Markey got their dog Lola, a golden retriever from Rush Hill Golden Retrievers in Arlington and she was named with the help of their daughter Keely) after the Tom Douglas restaurant of the same name. Lola is now five years old.

"We had another dog that just passed away in July", Trish explained, "and we had gotten that dog, Louie from them. Louie was three when we got Lola and we're looking for another puppy right now. She's lonely."

The couple describe Lola as a, "Major squirrel hunter and she's a major pig. There is nothing she won't eat. The other day she was eating candy wrappers, and she doesn't even care if the candy is in there."

As we talked with the Markey's, Lola suddenly dashed away, tearing the leash out of Trish's hand, as the dog dashed toward some squirrel or bird. Lola is very, very focused on other animals. Still, Lola is well loved and well known to the beach community.

"I walk around with her every morning," said Seamas," down on Alki so everybody knows her."

Lola apparently has the idea she's part human because she tries to communicate through her own unique sounds.

"When anybody comes in the door, she will immediately go and grab something and she will sing and moan to you. It's this weird sound and she will follow you around. She's very verbal and that cracks us up."

They feed her a half raw food and half Origin dry food diet. "The raw is made locally down in South Park," said Seamas," and they sell it, it's Darwins, in plastic vacuum packs."

Lola gets marrow bones, sweet potatoes wrapped in banana for treats and the couple often take her to the Alki Cafe. "The manager there is really sweet and they give her treats there all the time."

Kodiak, another retriever is her best friend but Lola also enjoys playing with Ripley and Bailey two other area dogs.

Trish described Lola as, "Happy. It's like Christmas every morning when she wakes up. She makes everything move with her tail. She knocks things over. She's gregarious, she's verbal. She's very much of a snuggler and she's obsessed with birds, squirrels and food."

Trish adds this note about Lola's behavior:
"We live on Alki point and so our backyard is the beach. In September when all of the Fishermen were fishing and then cleaning their fish or throwing them on the beach for the birds or whatever. Well it turned into a field day for Lola when she was hanging out on our property. She jumped off of our deck onto the beach and of course I was screaming and chasing her because her NOSE was directing her feet to move very fast towards something. When I caught up with her she had a whole fish in her mouth- head out one side and tail out the other. She would NOT let me open her mouth up- it was clamped tight. I found a very large shell that was very sturdy. I pried it into her mouth and then used it to keep her mouth pried open to retrieve the fish, hence the shell kept her mouth open. It was hilarious to watch."