by Kate Howard was having a rough day until she a dog wandered by her yard and “plopped down” on her grass. Kate was “enjoying the sunshine and the rest of my day off after returning from the memorial service of a friend who died far too soon” when the dog and her owner stopped at her home. Kate, the managing editor at the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, had just moved into the home a few months ago. She observed there was something curious about the dog. She shared what turned out to be a very heartwarming story on Twitter.
Today I was sitting on my porch, enjoying the sunshine and the rest of my day off after returning from the memorial service of a friend who died far too soon. A woman and her dog stopped at my yard, and the dog plopped down on my grass. 1/
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
Kate noted the dog was “charming”, albeit stubborn as the friendly dog didn’t want to move, even when her owner called for her. That’s when Kate heard the woman call the dog “Winnie.”
The dog was cute, a brown pitty girl with white markings. All dogs are perfect but she was particular charming. Her owner was trying to get her rolling again but she was staying put. She called her.
“Winnie! Come on!”
Her name was Winnie! 2/— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
“Winnie?” Kate thought. She instantly recalled the puppy she fostered a year ago who was also named Winnie. She cared for the puppy and after Winnie was spayed and then put up for adoption, Kate continued to wonder about the pup. “I cried for three days after she was spayed and went up for adoption, worrying about whether she had found a good home,” she explained on Twitter.
This immediately registered because last November, I fostered a dog for the first time over Thanksgiving. She was a soft wiggly baby puppy I named Winnie. I cried for three days after she was spayed and went up for adoption, worrying about whether she had found a good home. 3/ pic.twitter.com/KDFiHKcGzG
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
Kate asked the woman whether the dog had the name Winnie when she adopted her and the woman responded “yes”. She also told Kate she had adopted the dog last November. “By then, I was practically leaping off the porch screaming. I FOSTERED THIS DOGGGGGG,” tweeted Kate.
I asked the woman whether she adopted Winnie with that name. She said yes, as she didn’t want to change her name and confuse her. I asked when — she said last November. By then, I was practically leaping off the porch screaming. I FOSTERED THIS DOGGGGGG 4/ pic.twitter.com/7OuMyodTvo
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
Kate filled Winnie’s adoptive mom in on all that had transpired when she fostered the dog and she learned that the woman had recently lost a dog. She had made it a point to line up to adopt Winnie as soon as she had seen a picture on the shelter’s website.
It turns out Winnie’s mom had recently lost a dog. When saw Winnie’s precious face on the Animal Services web site, she got to the adoption site EARLY, intent on making sure she was first in line to adopt her when she became available. 5/
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
But to make the story even more heartwarming – it turns out Winnie only lives a block away!
I told her I was so worried about whether she found a good home that I asked the shelter to put my name in her file in case she was ever brought back, an unfortunate but not uncommon outcome. “Oh, no,” she said. “I would NEVER bring her back!” She is a great, well-behaved pup. 5/
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
Winnie appeared in Kate’s yard on a particularly emotional day for her- she had just come back from a dear friend’s memorial. Her friend was a “tremendous lover of dogs.”
Now, I just moved into this house a couple months ago. And it turns out this house is a block over from Winnie! I would have been at work, not on my porch, this afternoon if not for traveling from the memorial service of my friend Heidi, a tremendous lover of dogs. 6/
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
Winnie’s visit turned out to be “beyond comforting” for Kate. She concluded her twitter thread by writing “I hope she warms your heart too!”
It was beyond comforting for my first foster dog to turn up on my front lawn today, her fur still soft and her ear still crooked and her tail still wagging. Here she is in all her grown-up glory and I hope she warms your heart too! #RescueDogs #AdoptDontShop 7/ pic.twitter.com/aEChtd83cY
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
