Autumn was one of the five young Golden puppies that were found together on a dirt road in Queen Creek. Although they were all small, they were judged to be 5-7 months old. Trying to locate the owner, the finder advertised the puppies on local sites. The puppies were checked for a microchip and none was found. No one responded to the ads. Due to the pack mentality they were exhibiting, with the four females following after the one male and he pushing the smallest female away from the food bowl, we decided it would be best to separate the puppies and place them in different homes. Since they were strays, we had to assume they had never had any vetting, so we had our standard work-up done on each puppy. All will be sterilized when they are around a year old. Our AGR transporters took them to Academy West Animal Hospital and named them all Fall names starting with “A”. Connie exclaimed that the finders were wonderful people, and she is sure that had they not taken in the whole group, the dogs would have either been hit by cars or become coyote food.

Autumn is now now called Annie. From the transport summary: Autumn is the biggest girl of the five – at 26+ lbs just slightly smaller than Archer (the male). She is still very thin though. She was also the hardest one to gather up at the finders’ house – she was the most skittish. Today she was so much better as vet tech Jacob helped me get a few photos at AW. She then serenaded me all of the way to the FWITA’s in Waddell. And I do mean serenaded. Liz and Sharon could hear her as we were trying to talk on the phone! It was a difficult intro at first because of her skittishness. The resident dog, Elsie, is very friendly and very enthusiastic and very big. She absolutely terrified Autumn at first, who let out a blood-curdling scream when Elsie first approached. We sat out in the patio for about 90 minutes while she got used to the idea, just letting her know all was good. I went to the van to get her food and offered her some when I got back. She instantly turned happy and more confident. So [the adopter]gave her some and she was suddenly wagging her tail and interested in everything – it was as if a light went off in her head. She said hello to Elsie, even if a little cautiously, and decided to go into the house to explore. There she found Elsie’s food (he free-feeds her) and I asked him to please stop that practice and start a green bean diet. She also found the toys (Elsie is not at all possessive about them) and was really interested in them, immediately carrying around Elsie’s favorite. By the time I left she was a completely different puppy, full of confidence and curiosity. Looks like a great placement, and the adopter has already sent me a photo of Autumn, now Annie, with some toys.

The adopter has been great about sending us updates: My initial assessment is Annie is terribly under fed, and she is dehydrated to the nth degree. Her appetite seems to be insatiable. I have never seen a dog drink as much water as she has tonight. We had a lake in the kitchen as she knocked over the water bowls several times. Fixed that by giving them a bucket of water they can’t knock over. Interestingly, as the night has gone on, Annie crept ever closer to me as she slept. Right at my feet now, as is Elsie, only on the other side... Annie is playful at times, but I almost detect some reticence on her part, as if there has been some male person with which she has had difficulty. She is more friendly with me tonight, but still bounces away at times... Potty training her is going to be a challenge. She has peed several times in the house, and pooped twice in the house. I have been taking her outside about every 30 minutes with no success. I am sure once she goes outside and I can praise her we will be on the right road. She is very intelligent. I know she knows her name... Starting to sit on command, and even a handshake. Her stools are nothing nearly as bad as Elsie’s were. Elsie looked like a cow that would raise its tail and shoot a stream out. I am hopeful this will resolve quickly, knock on wood, keep your fingers crossed... We have no insurmountable problems. Just raising a puppy. As you said, she is not going to be a show dog, but she is going to be a great family dog. I love her to death. Only a week later… I’m so happy I’ve got this beautiful little girl. She and Elsie absolutely brawled, playfully, today. I just knew I would be taking one to the ER, ha ha. She is a stubborn little thing during leash training, but we’ll get there. Vet says she is now 37.2 lbs, remarkable! Certainly, we have had our puppy challenges though – housebreaking, 2 pairs of reading glasses gone, one pair of sandals chewed up, a bath mat chewed, and almost one DVR remote. But, pretty much my fault for being complacent in observing her behavior, and not removing the forbidden temptations from her reach. We continue to work and just take baby steps. I am not interested in having a circus dog doing cute tricks. Just trying to get her more well-behaved on the leash. Given her age, she has developed a stubborn streak, and likes to challenge authority. She is intelligent as she pretty much taught herself how to use the dog door. I feel so fulfilled when she is curled up on the sofa sound asleep she seems to emit a signal that says how safe she feels, how nourished she feels, and how content she is in her new home, the only home she has known. She has become a very affectionate dog, she snuggles with me on the sofa, or is at my feet. She is often lying close to Elsie and routinely washes Elsie’s face.

We wish you all every happiness!

Update June 2022 from the adopter: "She's on guard for the birds to show up every evening for their drinks from the pool.  There was a hen duck in the pool one afternoon last week.  Drove them crazy. She is a wonderful dog. She's pretty independent, but sticks pretty close to Elsie (resident dog) most of the time. She likes spending time outdoors more so than Elsie, and the heat doesn't seem to bother her."