Population of Pleasure Palace and Pet Hospice Down to One

Layla the dog left this world today after two hours of lying in her bed and soaking up love love  love. It was often said that Layla could never get enough petting, and we sometimes joked that a petting marathon should be scheduled to see if she could be sated before being petted bald. The man who loves me and I did our best to honor that loving neediness of hers in her last hours. Sometimes known as “Love Sponge,” the love Layla gave actually exceeded the love she took. She made friends easily and endeared herself to anyone who became a regular visitor.

In her earlier years in the Clemen/Emanuel household, Layla seemed to be a dog with no middle ground. A three-mile walk was often followed by an afternoon on the couch. She did not enjoy toys, was afraid of balls and Frisbees, and professed little interest in bones. But give her a person to hang out with and there would inevitably be a conversation about love. Before becoming the minister of love in her adopted household, Layla, along with Lola, lived for a time on the streets of downtown Los Angeles before being rescued by Thumping Tails. It may have been her time on the streets that sensitized Layla to suffering. Easily startled and somewhat anxious, Layla was particularly upset by crying. On more than one occasion she mercilessly mauled a box of Kleenex, most likely blaming it for the tears of one of her beloved humans.

Layla was preceded in death by her litter mate Lola, and the cat Snowflake who both died in September. She is survived by Piper, Snowflakes’s sister, who will celebrate her 17^th birthday this month. Having endured failing health for many months, Layla met death peacefully and seemed almost to sigh with relief in her final moments.