The following articles appeared in The Day.

Autumn the dog is out of surgery

By , Kira Goldenberg    Published on 11/20/2008

After two and a half hours of surgery Thursday at All Friends Animal Hospital, Autumn the dog was awake and wiggling. But her fate remains uncertain.

Two veterinarians worked to remove a 3-pound 5-ounce growth from her left hind leg. But because it had grown into her leg muscles, Dr. Christopher Melgey said some of the growth may remain in Autumn's body, and her follow-up care regimen will be planned after biopsy results return next week.

“I don't foresee any complications from this,” Melgey said, referring to the surgery. “But there's a good chance if we don't do anything, this thing's going to come right back.”

Autumn captured the public's attention after an article appeared in The Day last Saturday. She was a stray who was on the loose for more than a month before being captured by the Ledyard Animal Control Officer, Kimlyn Marshall.

Since then, well-wishers donated more than $7,000 for Autumn's care. The vets said after the surgery that they don't know how long it will take for Autumn to recuperate.

Donations pour in for stray dog that needs surgery

By , Izaskun E. Larrañeta    Published on 11/17/2008

Ledyard — No matter how much money is raised, Autumn, a German shepherd mix, will have an operation Thursday to remove a 2-pound growth from her left hind leg.

So far, an estimated $800 has been raised for the procedure, which is estimated to cost between $900 and $1,200 at a discounted rate at All Friends Animal Hospital in Norwich.

“The outpouring from the community has been wonderful,” said Kimlyn Marshall, Ledyard's animal control officer. “I don't know where she came from but after being on the run for a month, she is still such a sweet girl.”

Since an article appeared Saturday in The Day, Marshall has received about $400 while the hospital has received another $400 in donations.

Marshall said she has had about 10 “serious” inquiries from people who want to make Autumn a permanent member of their family.

“We want to see what happens after the operation before finding a home for her,” said Marshall. “She's super special.”

Animal control officers fielded Autumn sightings for a month throughout Norwich, Preston and the Mashantucket reservation before she was caught Nov. 10.

Lona Baker, hospital administrator at All Friends, said the phone has been consistently ringing with people who want to make donations.

Baker said the cost for the operation is just an estimate, doctors will know what they are really dealing with once the surgery begins.

Whether it's a benign mass or cancerous, Baker said the hospital will do everything in its power to help her.

“We're not going to give up on her,” said Baker. “We're really hoping for a good outcome.”

Any money that is left over will remain in a fund for any Ledyard animal that may need medical help in the future.

Donations for Autumn's operation can be made to All Friends Animal Hospital, 420 New London Turnpike, Norwich 06360.

Dog with leg tumor could use a helping hand

Stray in Ledyard needs surgery to remove growth

By Kira Goldenberg    Published on 11/15/2008

Ledyard - Most dogs, when offered a biscuit, inhale it on the spot.

But not Autumn. She took her treat Friday, trotted out to the field behind the Ledyard dog pound and buried it.

”She was on the run for so long and never knew where she was going to get her next meal,” animal control officer Kimlyn Marshall said.

Animal control officers fielded Autumn sightings for a month throughout Norwich, Preston and the Mashantucket Reservation before she was caught Nov. 10 near the entrance to MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

Autumn is an endearing, affectionate German shepherd mix with a tumor the size of a cantaloupe flopping off her left hind leg.

She covered a broad swath of terrain for a pooch lugging an ulcerated, 2-pound growth. Area animal control officers do not know where she came from or how long she survived on her own.

“We got reports of three-legged dogs, dogs with tumors coming out of her stomach - you name it. But she has four legs, she just holds one up when she runs,” Marshall said.

Even with one leg partly out of commission, 5-year-old Autumn was well traveled in the region. In late October in Ledyard, she was seen on Indiantown Road and on Long Pond Road South. Oct. 27 alone brought reported sightings on Coachman Pike in Ledyard, the south end of Ledyard Center and at the Norwich Hospital property in Preston.

Though a survivor, Autumn is underweight - her ribs show through her fur, and she is eating four meals a day at the pound - and nobody knows what the operation to remove the growth on her leg will reveal. It is scheduled for Thursday at All Friends Animal Hospital in Norwich and could cost anywhere from $900 to $1,200, which, lacking funds to pay for it, Marshall hopes will be covered by donations to the hospital.

”At this point it looks like some type of tumor. Other possibilities, we could have a hernia,” All Friends owner Christopher Melgey said. A best-case scenario would be removing a benign growth and closing the wound, Melgey said. A worst-case outcome would be a cancerous tumor that spread to other parts of her body.

Meanwhile, Marshall is happy she recovered the elusive dog, who loves to stand with her entire side pressed against a kneeling person's torso.

”I'm hoping that we're going to have good outcome,” Melgey said.

Stray dog finds help for tumor

By Kira Goldenberg    Published on 11/14/2008

Ledyard – Most dogs, when offered a biscuit, inhale it on the spot.