Fostering a dog in need doesn’t just help out the overcrowded shelters. When you bring a shelter dog into your home, whether it’s for a few weeks or a few months, you’re making a sincere impact on a dog’s life. Plus, it’s pretty good for the human’s soul, too.
Kate Howard, a journalist and editor in Kentucky, recently shared a story on Twitter that proves it.
After attending a friend’s memorial service, Kate returned home to sit on her porch and take in some sunshine. While she sat, a woman and her Pitbull mix stopped on her front lawn.
Kate recognized the dog’s brown fur and white markings. This pup looked exactly like one she had fostered over Thanksgiving. It was her first ever foster dog, a “soft wiggly baby” she gave the name Winnie.
Then, she saw the dog’s person try to get her moving again, and distinctly heard her call, “Winnie! Come on!”
Maybe it was a coincidence, but Kate had to know, so she asked the woman whether she adopted Winnie with that name. She had, and kept the name to not confuse the dog.
Next, Kate asked when Winnie was adopted. The woman told her November.
Kate didn’t need to ask anymore questions. She knew. This was that same little pup she’d fostered, only now that girl was grown up and thriving with a forever home.
Winnie’s new mom, who recently suffered the loss of a dog, revealed she had seen the cutie’s face on an adoption site and wanted her immediately.
Fostering had been difficult for Kate, but seeing the fruits of her labors, not to mention a happy and healthy Winnie, filled her heart.
“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!'”
Fate really brought Kate and Winnie back together that day. Kate had just moved into that house a couple months ago. Winnie and her mom live just a block away now.
“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.”
Kate now has a little pup of her own, a sweetheart Chihuahua named Foxy. Foxy is apparently recovering from an injury, so the two don’t get to walk around the neighborhood much. According to Kate’s thread, Winnie’s mom agreed to bring her by another time.
Kate even included an adorable video of the two pups meeting.
She concluded her thread with a thank you to everyone who gave words of support and love after reading her story.
“I was SO sad after I brought Winnie back that I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for fostering, but seeing her yesterday made me think maybe I can give it another shot.”
Fostering saves lives, and it makes for some incredibly touching reunions too.
H/T: Upworthy
FEATURED IMAGE: @JournoKateH/Twitter
Toledo, United States.
