Foster mom couldn’t keep dog — but kept vow to return for her. ‘Wasn’t a dry eye’
A foster mom couldn’t keep a dog — but kept a promise to return for her.
That’s when the woman adopted Winnie Bean Pocket with “no hesitation,” ending her longtime stay at a North Carolina shelter.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the building,” Danielle Deschamps, communications coordinator for the Watauga Humane Society, told McClatchy News in a July 15 email. “This isn’t an easy vocation we’ve chosen, and stories like Winnie’s are what keep us going. Her resilience, the community’s compassion, and a foster’s promise fulfilled… it’s a story we’ll carry in our hearts for a long time.”
The shelter celebrated the emotional adoption after Winnie had been in and out of its care for three years. She first arrived “on a date as memorable as she is: 02/22/2022,” according to Deschamps.
“She’s endured two foster homes, three intakes, 12 kennel moves, two failed adoptions, one surgery, and 56 vaccines,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. “She’s known more change — and more waiting— than any dog ever should.”
Over time, Winnie became known as a charming pup with a diva-like personality. But she struggled at the shelter.
“Her most recent stay with us lasted 280 days — and it wore on her,” Deschamps wrote. “The stress of the kennel, the constant noise, the emotional toll… it made her reactive and anxious. She would injure herself by repeatedly jumping in her kennel, and one injury was bad enough to require stitches and a cone. It was clear: she needed out, and she needed love.”
At one point, a foster parent took in Winnie during Hurricane Helene. The woman fell for the dog, but her landlord wouldn’t let her keep her. So, she vowed to come back to the shelter when her lease was over.
Then nine months later, the woman “kept her word.” She couldn’t live without Winnie, leading to the heartwarming adoption, the shelter wrote in its email and on social media.
“They’ve already shared a home,” the humane society wrote. “They’ve already shared their hearts. This time, it’s forever. It was a good day — ugly crying happy tears and all.”
The shelter is in the mountain town of Boone, a roughly 85-mile drive west from Winston-Salem.
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Foster mom couldn’t keep dog — but kept vow to return for her. ‘Wasn’t a dry eye’."
