Autumn - my sidekick

Nothing much new to report. Autumn is continuing to be an awesome girl, my constant shadow. Today she helped me by laying by my feet while I made soup. Yesterday, she helped me by putting her pretty head near my laptop as I typed away. She's a fantastic companion :)

We took a nice few block walk today. Autumn doesn't pull and walks nicely by your side or a little in front of you. Near the end, she was tired and panting a bit and was happy to come inside and take a nap. She loves to use pillows or blankies to rest her head on. Or other pups ;)

But she's not all lazy! Autumn loves to run and grab her favorite toys, a bone or a rope toy, and throw it around and play tug or chase with the other dogs. The other day she even played with 13lb Gizmo, our other foster dog! It was so sweet, she was so gentle with him :) 

Autumn has not had any other seizures recently and for all intents and purposes, is a totally normal and happy dog! Don't let her diagnosis define her or count her out as a great family member for you! Ooh, and she also spent 8 hours in her crate the other day while I went to work (I was off work for awhile, which was super nice for her, but it's time to get back to reality, bummer!). She cries when she first is put in, but she quiets down quickly. She enjoys a bone or a Kong full of something yummy to occupy her. I still think the best home for Autumn would be a home that has someone around often, but it's good to know that she can be left in the kennel for a while if needed. Don't miss out on this awesome girl :) 

Autumn's first trip to the dog park!

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day here on the East side of Milwaukee, we decided to pack up the car with the doggies and head to the dog park! Autumn is great in the car, she quietly sits in the backseat and watches out the window :) 

Autumn had a great time at the dog park!  We can learn so much about our fosters by taking them to the park. Like for Autumn, we learned that she gets along with all the doggies, but her main priority was saying hi to ALL the people there! She was so sweet and I had multiple people come up to me and tell me how much they loved "my" dog. When I told them she was available for adoption, they were shocked! How can such a loving dog need a home? 

Autumn mostly just sniffed around, occasionally running for a bit or pretending to chase a ball, but she doesn't have any interested in really fetching. She's got a pretty good recall, it could use some work, but for the most part she would come running to us when her name was called. 

 

Autumn may have epilepsy, but for all the other moments in her life, she is a completely normal, loving, and loyal dog.  Apply for Autumn at jrspupsnstuff.org :) 

Autumn, our special girl

I haven't blogged about our foster dogs in quite some time! But if anyone deserves to be written about, it's our new sweet girl, Autumn.

Autumn is a 3 year old Shepherd mix female from Alabama. She was a companion dog to a woman with a traumatic brain injury. Autumn began having seizures and the woman was no longer able to keep her as a companion dog. She made the decision to surrender Autumn to our Alabama partner, who then sent her our way. I wasn't planning on taking her home, honestly. We were planning on another little guy to foster, but she just stole my heart. The day of transport, Autumn had a seizure in her kennel, likely due to the stress of the day and getting her medications later than usual. I rushed to her side with some other volunteers and calmed her through her seizure. After that, it was a done deal. She was coming home with us.

Curtis wanted to bring home a little guy too, so Gizmo came with us too ;)

Since coming home with us on the October 8th, Autumn has had two more seizures. It would appear that she is very sensitive to medications. Her first seizure was the morning after receiving her flea/tick medications. Her second one, this AM, was after I had given her some Robitussin for her newly developed kennel cough (I know, right, can't a girl catch a break!). Seizures so far have both been at 5am and she has woken from a deep sleep with them. Autumn takes Keppra once a day to manage her seizures She has seen our wonderful vet, who agrees with her current plan. We will continue to log her seizures and monitor her and follow up in one month to see if any changes are needed.

Autumn, Gizmo (also available for adoption!), and our dog, Dexter

Now, the good stuff. Let's learn about Autumn herself, because she is SO much more than her condition! She is a very loving and attentive dog. I can imagine that she was a fantastic companion dog to her past owner. She loves to be by your side, sure to be your shadow. She's always following me or just sleeping by my feet. She doesn't try to get on the couches and only comes on the bed when invited. Autumn lives with my 25lb terrier and our 13lb foster dog and is wonderful with both.  She plays gently with the little guy and a little more rough with my dog who likes to play that way. She also lives here with my cat and basically ignores her. She is completely potty trained too! She stays in her crate during the day if we need to leave the house. She's not a HUGE fan of it, and requires some calming music and a kong full of goodies to help her settle in. She has recently decided that she will not be kenneled overnight, and now sleeps quietly on the floor of our bedroom. I think she would do best in an adoptive home where someone is usually home. She loves the companionship of her humans!

 Autumn tends to be a bit anxious and sometimes pants and paces a bit when she's upset. You just want to hug her and remind her that life is okay. I think Autumn was very used to her lifestyle before this and is having a hard time adjusting. I don't think she will always be so anxious, but it may take some time for her to really settle in. I don't care one bit, she's such an incredible girl, she can stay here as long as she'd like.

Phew, that's enough for now! I'll continue to update you all on Autumn and help you learn more about her condition. If you are interested in adopting this lovely girl, apply at jrspupsnstuff.org!