A Gift Named Winnie

Happy post!  Some of you have probably seen my recent FaceBook post showing off my new little dog, Winnie.  This is such a cool story that I wanted to put a little meat on the bones of that picture, so you can see how God blesses His children in the midst of their trials.

Just to refresh, I made the difficult, but correct decision to put my sweet Missy down a few weeks ago.  And 2 weeks to the day after that, I was back at the same emergency vet with a very sick Daisy, who wasn’t to return home for another 3 days.

So, adding those two tearful events into a life that was already quite tearful seemed overwhelming to me at the time.  But all ended well for Daisy and she is back to her normal crazy self.  (I was kind of hoping to take a little of the crazy off, but no such luck…)

Long before Dale passed away, we had discussed downsizing the number of pets we had, which was 2 dogs and a cat.  Eventually I would want to be in a townhome that would not have a fenced back yard.  So, we both agreed that once Missy was gone, we would become a one dog-one cat household.

And I was absolutely OK with that.  I know that’s hard for some of you to believe…but it’s true.  😊  I think this must go along with aging, but I found myself wondering how many more dogs I would have in this life, and how many more cars.  That’s right, cars.  Anybody else find themselves doing that??  So, I had the math all figured out and agreed that this would be the time to start the downsizing process in the dog world.

I came home from dinner last Friday night and checked my FaceBook newsfeed before going to bed.  What would show up but an adorable Boston/Frenchie face named Winnie who was needing a home.  The post was from a friend named Lynn whom I had met through the Boston Terrier rescue almost 8 years ago.  She lives in Iowa City and we had never met in person.  Winnie was 5 years old, surrendered from a home, got along great with kids, other dogs and cats and was so, so sweet.

Huh…what do I do with THAT?  Well, I did send a private message to Lynn saying, “Do I need to talk to you about this dog??”

Then I prayed that God would either open up doors for me to adopt her, or clearly shut them by giving her to someone else.

The next morning, I called Lynn and we chatted a bit about Winnie’s personality and her history.  It all seemed SO right, especially the part about Winnie NOT being a strong alpha dog.  Can’t have two of those in this household.  But one problem.  I couldn’t get Daisy over to Iowa City to meet Winnie because she has become terrified of riding in the car the past few years.  (In fact, that is exactly what I was working on when I erroneously gave her too many hot dog treats resulting in her trip to the emergency vet.  Word to the wise…)

I asked Lynn if she thought it would be enough for me to come meet Winnie in Iowa City and then decide if her personality seemed compatible with Daisy’s.  To which she replied, “We will be in Des Moines tomorrow and can bring Winnie along.  I can help introduce them.”  WOW!  Can you say, “Door.  Wide.  Open!?”

So, at 11:30 the next day, Lynn showed up with Winnie and it was love at first sight for me.  Such a happy, loving little girl!  But now the big test.  Introduce her to Daisy.  So off to the back yard we went awaiting the big meet and greet.  When I brought Daisy out, there were a few seconds of some fairly aggressive sniffing and then…that’s it!  No signs of stress or aggression in either dog.  That, in itself, is a minor miracle, as those of you who know Daisy might attest!

By noon, it was a done deal (minus the follow-up paperwork) and Winnie had found a new home.  She slipped immediately into a comfortable routine here, getting along great with both Daisy AND the cat, Max.  He quickly decided that she was no threat and has already started trying to play with her a bit.

As I was looking through all of Winnie’s paperwork, I found the original document from when the previous owners had purchased her and, surprise (?), she came from the same breeder as Daisy!  One more confirmation that this was absolutely the right decision.  Winnie was meant to be part of this family.  And apparently, they both have the TV-watching gene…

I couldn’t help but be amazed at how all of this transpired so quickly, and so clearly!  While I truly had no intentions of getting another dog, God obviously had different plans.  I started to see the blessing that this was in my life, after some very difficult weeks and months.  Winnie was God’s gift to me, when I wasn’t expecting it.

How good and kind is our God?  It brings tears to my eyes (happy ones) when I think of the depth of His love for me to bring this little punkin into my life when I didn’t even know that I needed her.  But God did, and chose to bless me beyond what I could have hoped for.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”  Matthew 7:11.  Or to those who don’t even know to ask!

Thank you, God, (and Lynn!) for this gift named Winnie.