When Samantha Paulino of Arlington, Virginia, adopted a rescue dog from South Korea, she never expected her new pet would survive on the run, alone, evading rescue attempts, for six months.
Paulino’s dog, Autumn, arrived in the United States in September 2023. It was clear to her owner from the start that Autumn had anxiety and a tendency to “let her guard down and just want to be independent.”
Much of Autumn’s history before her rescue is unknown, Paulino said in an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital. (See the video at the beginning of this article.)
Stray dog survives in forest for over six years and is rescued
The dog was estimated to be 2 to 3 years old at the time of adoption, and its breed is described as a “Finnish Spitz mix.”
“They knew she’d been found on the street. [of South Korea]” Paulino said.
Autumn was rescued from the streets of South Korea and adopted by Samantha Paulino of Arlington, Virginia. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn_)
Paulino experienced the typical growing pains that come with having a new dog, but by December 2023, he thought things had improved considerably.
“She started licking me and showing affection. She started following me and wanting to go on walks with me,” Paulino said.
However, on December 28, 2023, while walking in the Virginia Square neighborhood of Arlington, Autumn was startled by something and flew away.
The dog was so small, weighing only about 12 pounds, that no one was able to catch it.
She was tiny, weighing only about 12 pounds, but no one could catch her after that.
“She’s a speedster. She sprints through everything,” Paulino said, “so when she breaks away and you try to chase her, she gets even crazier and runs even faster.”
When her dog went missing, Paulino took immediate action: She printed out flyers, contacted animal control, and posted about the missing dog on her Instagram account, @findingAutumn_.
A New York-based author touts the “life-changing” benefits of owning a senior dog
Sightings were reported within days of Autumn’s escape, but Autumn was smart and quick, always managing to stay out of reach of rescuers.
At the end of December, Autumn was spotted near Arlington National Cemetery, and then there were essentially no sightings for about a month.
“I won’t lie,” Paulino said, “at that point I had almost lost hope.”
Autumn appears in both images, and in early February, a woman said she thought she saw her at Arlington National Cemetery. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn/Arlington Animal Welfare League)
But in early February, a woman named Katie contacted Paulino to say she thought she had seen Autumn at Arlington National Cemetery, where she was playing in a military band.
Katie told Paulino she had seen a flyer advertising a lost dog and was “100 percent sure” it was the dog she had found.
Autumn was based at Fort Myer, a nearby Army base.
It turned out that Autumn was living at Fort Myer, an Army base near Arlington National Cemetery.
Because Paulino, a civilian, was not allowed on the base, Katie, a military member, was able to post flyers around Fort Myer asking for Autumn’s help.
Lost dog rescued after being stranded in the middle of the highway for 18 hours – owner was ‘panicked’
“By the time Katie started putting up fliers around the base, people there were starting to realize, ‘Oh, she’s not our dog,'” Paulino said.
“There were military people living there and we thought maybe she was just a loose dog,” she said.
When it became clear to Fort Myers residents that Autumn was a stray dog and her owner missed her terribly, the Arlington Animal Welfare League (AWLA) and its animal control team stepped in.
After learning Autumn’s behavioral patterns and habits, AWLA officials tried to lure her into a trap, but Autumn was unable to evade their schemes. (Arlington Animal Welfare League)
“If they hadn’t had that accurate sighting of her, they wouldn’t have been able to put the resources in,” Paulino said.
Through consistent sightings, AWLA was able to understand Autumn’s behavioral patterns and habits and from there begin efforts to bring her home.
In an email to Fox News Digital, a representative for AWLA explained the efforts the organization went through to rescue Autumn.
“We were confident we could lock her away.”
“We committed to caring for Autumn twice a day, feeding her at a feeding station set up on base (with permission) and observing her footprints to learn more about her behavioral habits,” Animal Care Services Coordinator Anna Barrett said on behalf of AWLA.
Dog rescued after being chased off ‘perilous cliff’ by raccoon: Video
After about six months of tracking and observing Autumn, “we got to a critical point where we were confident we could contain her,” Barrett said.
Autumn was difficult to capture, despite being quite small.
“Autumn isn’t going to be fooled into falling into a trap, no matter what delicious treat is on the other side,” Barrett says.
Barrett said Autumn just sat on “her hill” and watched as rescuers tried (literally) to get her to take the bait.
“Autumn will not be fooled into falling into a trap, no matter what delicious treat is on the other side.”
“We often just sat quietly in our cars, watching each other from a distance,” Barrett said.
The AWLA tried everything to catch Autumn but was unsuccessful.
According to Paulino, Autumn even manages to avoid “the trap of a prototype that is not yet in commercial production.”
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
Eventually, on June 11, Autumn was caught in a trap, setting up a “trap within a trap,” Paulino said.
She said she finally caught her dog using a regular “box trap” placed inside a “playpen” trap.
Autumn is pictured here on her long-awaited return home after months on the run. (Samantha Paulino/@findingautumn_)
Autumn was reluctant to be captured, but “once she was captured, she settled close to her rescuers and seemed relieved that her long and lonely struggle was finally over,” Barrett told Fox News Digital.
Autumn spent the night at AWLA to “decompress” from the stress of six months on the run, and was finally reunited with her girlfriend on Wednesday, June 12.
“It’s been a really tough process,” Paulino said, “and it’s taken a whole village to get to where we are now.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Autumn had been away from home for nearly six months, but a veterinarian examined her and found she was not in any particular condition, Paulino said.
Paulino said the next few weeks will be crucial as Autumn gets reaccustomed to life at home and with her owners, and she continues to work with AWLA to help Autumn transition back into pet life.
For more lifestyle stories, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
“She was the hardest, most difficult catch they’ve ever had. [AWLA Chief of Animal Control] Jen [Toussaint]”It’s a big loss for her career,” Paulino said, “so they’re doing everything they can to make sure she doesn’t run off again, especially in these last two weeks because she might really want to get out again.”
Autumn is now wearing a GPS tracker as a precaution, and the plan is for her to be on two leashes on future walks.
