When Kate Howard sat outside her home one sunny morning, a sweet little dog caught her attention. She was a brown pit bull, and to Kate, she looked vaguely familiar – and it seemed as if the dog recognized her too.
She sat on the grass in front of Kate just looking at her, and despite her owner’s best efforts, it took a long time for the dog to move. Kate knew that there was something special about her, she just didn’t know what.
“All dogs are perfect but she was particularly charming,” Kate wrote on Twitter. “Her owner was trying to get her rolling again but she was staying put.”
It wasn’t until the dog’s owners suddenly called her name, that Kate realized exactly why this familiar little dog was so special.
Nearly a year ago, Kate had fostered a puppy from Louisville Metro Animal Services. That puppy’s name was Winnie – the same name that her owners were calling.
“It was kind of on a whim,” Kate told The Dodo. “I don’t have enough time for a foster normally, especially a puppy, but the animal shelter posted a picture of Winnie, a stray needing a foster, right before I was about to be off [work] for Thanksgiving for five consecutive days. She was ridiculously cute, I had the time and no plans for the holiday.”
In those five, short days, Kate cared for Winnie as if she was her own dog. Not only did she teach the little puppy how to be house trained – but she also gave her the greatest gift of all: Winnie’s first loving home.
“She learned to pee outside and sleep in the crate during that time,” Kate said. “She progressed before my eyes in a way that was incredible.”
Kate had her own dog named Foxy, and he wasn’t such a fan of having another dog in the house. This meant that Kate wasn’t able to keep Winnie, and when her foster period was over and Kate had to return to work, she was plagued by thoughts of whether Winnie had found a good home, and she “cried for three days” after she’d said goodbye.
But miraculously, it seemed that Winnie and Kate’s paths were crossing once again.
As she sat out in her front yard, Kate explained to Winnie’s owner how she had previously fostered Winnie, and the woman was immediately touched by Kate’s story. The pair bonded over the pain of losing a dog, and Winnie’s mom explained how she had ended up adopting the little pup.
“It turns out Winnie’s mom had recently lost a dog,” Kate wrote. “When [she] saw Winnie’s precious face on the animal services website, she got to the adoption site EARLY, intent on making sure she was first in line to adopt her when she became available.”
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
“It was beyond comforting for my first foster dog to turn up on my front lawn today,” Kate wrote, “her fur still soft and her ear still crooked and her tail still wagging.”
She also added that a visit is being arranged so that she can visit Winnie – who apparently only lives a block away from her!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
