17-076 Sasha and 17-077 Sultan are another bonded pair. Sasha is 3 years old, and Sultan is 6; both are nice-looking purebred Goldens. The surrendering family told us their baby daughter was allergic to the dogs, so they were having to keep the pair outside and knew that was not good for Goldens, who should live inside with a family. Although Sultan was not neutered, fortunately Sasha was already spayed. AGR had the surgery done on Sultan, along with all the standard vetting for both dogs. They both had to be treated for kennel cough. Sasha and Sultan were never socialized until we got them.

The first foster was a woman who had them for two days, came back from a trip and said she was just not ready to have dogs in her life again, as it had only been a month since her other two had passed. Then they went to a second foster home where we discovered Sasha was very protective of Sultan and went after the resident dogs. At the third foster, when the dogs were walked near other neighborhood dogs, Sasha was again very reactive, and she did not like the resident cats at all. We decided to try placing them in separate homes. Turned out Sultan didn’t get along with the cats at this foster home either. With help from AGR’s behaviorist, the fosters tried to make it work for a week, but it was obvious to all that Sultan needed to be moved again. The pair was reunited at their fourth foster home. Without any cats or other dogs to distract them, Sasha and Sultan relaxed and were good companions for this foster.

Finally, a permanent family that was willing to take a pair and did not have other animals was identified. The adoptive couple have experienced a couple of behavior issues from the pair, but AGR’s behavior consultant has been working with them to help them learn leadership skills. The dogs are becoming better socialized by spending some days at Allehunde Gym for Dogs in Fountain Hills. We are all confident that Sasha and Sultan will settle down and learn to enjoy their new family and environment.