Thread by @JournoKateH

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

I have heard from so many of you who have loved rescue dogs and fostered yourselves. Thank you! 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.

Her mama agreed to come by in the future so I can see her. Me and my pup Foxy aren’t doing much walking around the neighborhood because she’s been injured pretty much since we moved in. Get a load of this sweet baby.

Side note: Winnie loved foxy more than foxy loved Winnie 😂

By the way, if we can talk about Heidi for a second: she was a journalist too, and she faced her diagnosis with incredible grace and bravery. She left this article when she died. It's worth your time.

religionnews.com/2019/09/26/fin…

Heidi was amazing and inspiring but you also need to know she was hilarious. In her final months, she published this book under a pen name. Spoiler: it’s Downton Abbey fan fiction. She called it a GoFundMe that turns you on. 😂 amazon.com/Sylglass-Manor…

And these were her dogs: Griffin and Chiweenie Thunder.