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.
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 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!”
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
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.
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
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.
Side note: Winnie loved foxy more than foxy loved Winnie 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xtjx6veLRF
— Kate Howard (@JournoKateH) October 15, 2019
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
The post Woman’s Surprise Reunion With Former Foster Dog Shows The Emotional Impact Of Fostering appeared first on iHeartDogs.com.
via Whisker Therapy