23-085 Travis  and  23-086 Taylor  came to  AGR  as a pair that were found together as strays. They were estimated to be about 2 years of age. That’s all we knew about them, so we took them to one of our partner veterinarians. The vets and staff at this hospital not only do medical  updates (vaccinations, heartworm and valley fever tests), but  they also do some behavior analysis  for us. The dogs were judged to be  sweet with no handling issues. Nei ther was altered, so we got them just  in time to avoid mixed-breed pup pies, as  Taylor  was licking herself a  lot and her hind end was quite mat ted.  Taylor  seemed to be very fright ened and shy;  Travis  had a friendly disposition. Both were quite dirty,  so we had them groomed. Since they were found together, we wanted to keep them together, but at first that was not possible. An adoptive couple in Scottsdale agreed to foster-with-intent-to- adopt (FWITA)  Travis ;  Taylor  was fostered by a foster couple also in Scottsdale. When  Taylor  was first with her foster, she noticed that her ears were always down and she looked morose. After just a few days,  Taylor  was romping with the resident dogs,  walking beautifully, chasing bunnies running full out and jumping up on the couch. The adopter reported that  Travis , who is very sweet but needy, exhibited signs of separation anxiety: When they had left the house, he went through several crates, ripped up and peed on carpets . They  tried a couple of medications that didn’t work, but they eventually got him on trazadone, which seemed to help calm him. The AGR Health Care Director had suggested leaving the TV on and giving him a frozen Kong ®  with peanut butter.  Travis , whose name was changed to  Jake , had a live-in sitter while the family was away on vacation, but he apparently didn’t trust that they would return because there was some “acting out” even with the sitter there. Once the family returned, they decided that  Jake  really needed his former canine companion. So, they contacted Placement and requested that they be considered for adoption of  Taylor  also. We all thought that was a good idea, and so did the dogs.  Taylor , whose name is now  Maddie , was fine being with  Jake  again, but she established right away that she is a “passive alpha” by letting him know that humping her was not acceptable. He is now neutered, so presumably the humping will stop. Neither dog had an adverse reaction to the resident cats. By rolling over on her back  Maddie  let the family know that she loves belly rubs and, of course, they comply. The adopters love their redheaded dogs. They’ve said: 

Maddie  is the perfect girl. We can let her roam free in the house when we leave, unlike  Jake  who must be confined. Thanks to  AGR , we now have the perfect pair, the perfect vet,  and the perfect resource in Liz  [Health Care Director] , who has been incredibly helpful with her wealth of knowledge. Our thanks to  AGR  for all you do with and for the dogs.