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| Name: |
Winry
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Age: |
Four years old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Border Collie/Golden Retriever mix
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| Home: |
Illinois, USA |
Winry is my "heart dog," plain and simple. I have loved dogs before her, I love dogs now, and I will love dogs after her, but there will never be another Winry. I had been obsessed with getting a puppy. I didn't care where the puppy came from, but I had found out that Petfinder was a great place to look. I fell in love with many puppies and was either passed up with missed out on them all. I had an image in my head- Fluffy, golden, with a dark muzzle. Now, don't ask me why I had that in my head, but that is what I wanted. I applied for so many dogs (none of which matched that description) and still, they all fell through. Then, there she was, my dream dog, "Grace," with two words that crushed my soul ... "Adoption Pending." I moved on, trying again and again, but to no avail. Finally, I had a foster through a rescue that said he would come over to do a home check and I could meet the puppy! I was so excited, but when he arrived, it wasn't the puppy I applied for. He was an adorable hound mix with long ears and short fur. I was upset, but still considered him.
Eventually, I passed on the puppy and decided to just give up. I was so heartbroken. I threw myself on my bed later that night and cried. As I cried, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway (which is strange because I rarely do that). It was the foster I met earlier. He said "I have a fluffy puppy for you if you're interested. She's had an adoption pending for two weeks now and they just won't come to pick her up and I am done waiting. I would have mentioned her before, but my family thought about keeping her ourselves because she's so wonderful, but if you want her, she's yours." I couldn't even speak, I was so excited! I had no idea what puppy he was talking about, but something told me to say, Yes.
We traveled to meet him half way (he'd already done a check on our apartment). I could hardly contain my excitement. We arrived at the halfway point and there she was at the end of the leash. Fluffy, golden, dark snout ... she was Grace, the puppy I had fallen for on Petfinder than I never even tried for! I couldn't even believe it. She was about 14 weeks old and already around 20 pounds (we now think she was a bit older than that). She was a little nervous and the cars driving by scared her, but I laid down on the ground while my boyfriend filled out the paperwork for me. We paid her adoption fee and that was that. She wouldn't walk on the leash so I had to scoop her up to get her to the car.
That was my first experience with adopting a dog and for over a year it was just me and her (and my cat who was also adopted years before). After Winry, I was hooked. I have adopted and rescued every other pet since then. I now have four more dogs, three more cats, rats, mice, and ducks all adopted. At four years old, Winry is not just the most beautiful and perfect dog I could have ever asked for with so many tricks and commands under her belt that I forget them, but she is also my fully task trained Service Dog! My wonderful Winry Grace was the best thing to ever happen to me and she saves my life each and every day from the moment I adopted her. I now work for a rescue, volunteer and foster, and have dedicated my life to my passion for saving animals. My photography hobby also blossomed through photographing her and it's grown and grown! She even has her own Instagram account!
Winry isn't just the dog of the day, week, month, or even year ... she's the dog of my life!
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