About Winry
"Where did you find her?"
"A van!"
That's always been the most simple and our favorite response to how we found our little pup. And it's not completely untrue. Winry was on wheels when we found her, though it was in an adoption van run by the amazing rescue group In Our Hands Rescue not some random vehicle on the side of the road. I was walking through downtown Brooklyn to pick up groceries and on a whim stepped up into the adoption van on my way.
Winry, called Bella Mae at the time, was curled up in a kennel and softly licking the outstretched hand of a little girl. She was so sweet, but not in the best shape.
This is when Winry first arrived to the shelter in Kentucky, before she was brought up to New York. Her previous owners voluntarily surrendered her, meaning they filled out some paperwork about why they didn't want her when they dropped her off. Their stated reason was because they didn't want to pay their apartments pet fee, but we can all agree that's bullshit right?
Winry had fleas and matting over most of her body when she was dropped off. The back half of her was so bad, the only solution was to shave her. She looked pretty ridiculous, but when she was taken out of her kennel to greet people in front of the van she was pure sweetness and energy. I called Zach immediately.
"Get down here. We're adopting a dog."
Both Zach and I have had pets before, pets we love and loved dearly. We come from families that love to adopt and rescue, so Winry isn't the first. But Zach and I agree, something about her is different. She is simultaneously sweet and affectionate while being independent. A bouncing ball of energy that can sleep the day away. Well behaved but bursting with personality. Loves to play in the mud but sure cleans up nicely.
Winry always finds a way to make friends wherever she goes. She's one of those dogs who will stare people down on the street until she gets their attention and then is so grateful for it that she squirms with glee. She gets just as excited to meet other dogs, often digging and trying to use all her 16lbs to pull closer when she spots a dog down the street. Once she's there though she plays coy, turning her head and sitting exceptionally still to be as passive as possible. But as soon as greetings are done, she takes off running with her new friend chasing closely behind.
When she's outside and interacting with other animals and people Winry is always the happiest. In between those times you could be sure to find her staring out the window to the people below, just waiting to be out again.
While we planned on moving out of New York soon anyway, the idea of Winry being able to play in a backyard helped drive the thought home. But we knew we had one last adventure to go on before settling down. It seemed impossible to take her along at first, but we couldn't bear the thought of leaving her for a year while we explored Europe. So getting past our myths, we dug into research and made a plan.
Plans became reality February 12th, 2015, when we touched down in Milan, passed through customs and let Winry out to run around on her first patch of Italian grass. We made it. There's still more adventures to be had and definitely more plans to be made, but it wouldn't be right without having Winry beside us. She's been loving traveling, especially now that all of Europe is her backyard.
