DESCRIPTION
Full name: Roxanne. But she's an Annie.
3 years old • 14 lbs
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Meet Annie.
She's three years old, fourteen pounds, and a Maltipoo ( We think) who is just now getting to figure out what being a regular, loved dog actually feels like. Annie spent the first part of her life as a breeding dog for a backyard breeder. We don't know exactly what those years looked like, but we know what she was *for* — making puppies, over and over, for someone who saw her as a product instead of a dog. That's the part that's hard to write. The good part is everything that's happened since.
She's with us now! In a foster home. And she is absolutely thriving.
The first thing you should know about Annie is that she is a lap dog of the highest order. When she hops up onto your lap — and she will, she can launch herself from a standing position straight up into a lap, it's a real talent — she immediately flips over, belly up, and just *expects* you to rub it. It's not a request. It's a standing order. She'll look at you like, "Well? Get to it." Its just the cutest thing and you will, in fact, get to it.
She takes a minute to warm up to new people. Annie isn't one of those instantly-extroverted dogs who runs up to every stranger wagging her whole body. She's a little cautious at first, which makes total sense given where she came from. But give her ten or fifteen minutes to figure out you're a safe person who's going to give her attention, and the cautious dog disappears entirely. In her place is a goofy, affectionate, attention-soaking girl who can't believe her luck. The same thing happened when she first moved into her foster's house — she was nervous and unsure for about thirty minutes, and then she settled in like she'd always lived there. She adapts fast. She just needs a beat.
Annie is wonderful with other dogs, and we mean *all* other dogs. Her foster has had her around eighty-pound big dogs and five-pound tiny dogs, and Annie is genuinely chill with both. She reads other dogs really well — she knows when to play, when to back off, when to push for more. Nothing fazes her, size-wise. There's a strong chance she'd do well with a cat too, given how easygoing she is socially, though that intro would need to be slow and thoughtful.
She loves to play. She's got a thing for squeaky toys, which she shakes around dramatically like she's the boss of them. And she'll chase a ball with full commitment — though, in the most charming twist, she has absolutely no idea what to do once she actually catches up to it. Fetch? Hasn't clicked. She gets to the ball, looks at it, looks at you, and seems to think, "Now what?" It's adorable. She'll figure it out eventually, or she won't, and either way it's going to be cute.
Here's a thing that genuinely surprised everyone: Annie is great off-leash. Within a couple of weeks of being in foster, she was already off-leash at Point Isabel — the beach and off-leash trail in Richmond — and she did beautifully. Big dogs running around, small dogs running around, people everywhere, and she just had a blast. On-leash, she's mostly easy too. No hard pulling, no zig-zagging — maybe a little tug here and there, nothing dramatic. Sometimes when she's on-leash and spots another dog across the street, she can get just excited and a little vocal. It's the kind of thing that gets better with some consistent leash work, and it's funny because off-leash she's totally chill around the same dogs. It's purely a leash-and-distance thing and its not with ALL dogs just some dogs and she is improving with each walk!
If you're someone who wants a Bay Area lifestyle dog, Annie is genuinely built for it. She loves car rides — hops right into the passenger seat like she owns the car. She does beautifully in busy environments: crowded parks, outdoor cafés, anywhere with people and energy and things happening. She's not a dog who gets overwhelmed by the world. She wants to be in it, ideally with you, ideally with treats involved.
Speaking of: she loves treats. She gets visibly excited when it's training time, which makes her a delight to work with. She's smart, she's food-motivated, she wants to please.
She's also crate trained and actually *likes* her crate, which is one of those small things that turns out to be a really big thing in daily life. She has zero separation anxiety. You can leave her alone for the workday and she'll be totally fine. You can leave her with another small dog and she'll be totally fine. She just chills.
Here's the thing about Annie. She came from a situation where she wasn't really seen as a dog with a personality and preferences and a favorite belly-rub position. She was seen as a job. And in just the short time she's been in foster, she's blossomed into this funny, affectionate, adaptable little girl who launches herself into laps and demands belly rubs and chases balls she doesn't know what to do with. Imagine what she's going to be like when she has a forever person.
She'd do well with older, dog-savvy kids who can let her warm up at her own pace — not toddlers grabbing at her right away. She'd be great as the only dog, or with another small dog, or possibly with a calm cat. She's flexible. What she needs is patience for those first ten minutes, a willingness to rub a belly on command, and someone who's excited to watch her keep blossoming.
If that sounds like your person, apply to adopt Annie. She's ready for her real life to start. 🤍
https://www.welcomehomesanctuary.org/adoption-application
