Winnie - Pit bull

Winnie is newer to our rescue so please check back as we learn more about her!

So far we know Winnie is a certified lap dog. At 40lbs, this gal would love all the belly rubs and attention she could get. She doesn't even really need an invitation...she loves hoomans so much! Whether they are tiny humans, older humans, male humans, female humans...doesn't matter! Winnie soaks in all the human attention.

Dogs: So far Winnie has been getting along with her foster family's dogs. Her foster family has 1 female that is her size/larger, 1 male dog that is her size/larger, and 1 small breed male dog. Winnie has met quite a few other dogs as well and has been able to make quite a few doggy friends. Winnie is EXTREMELY excited to meet new dog friends... which causes her to react negatively...or causes the other dog to react negatively. Winnie's amazing foster mama is working with a trainer to make Winnie the social butterfly that Winnie so desperately wants to be. Winnie has been brought around town and has met a few dogs on leash...she has done okay with some, and bad with others. Problem being that Winnie is VERY intense and wants to interact so badly, but she doesn't really know how to do so politely. This has caused some issues with some dogs she has met, on leash. We don't recommend letting ANY dog meet and interact on leash with another dog, without the humans paying the utmost attention...and this is especially for Winnie! Winnie gives the wrong first impression, but we have seen her successfully meet, interact with, and befriend MANY dogs with a proper intro! Winnie needs a confident pibble owner that will help people/dogs understand that Winnie is... special ;) Winnie absolutely LOVES playing with her foster sister and brothers as well as cuddling them. Perhaps Winnie's favorite past-time is grooming her doggy foster siblings...or should we say DRENCHING them! lol

Cats: We aren't sure about Winnie and cats yet. We don't recommend Winnie to be around cats, based of of her few interactions with cats so far... But since she is not currently fostered with cats, it certainly isn't completely off the table. She will need slow and proper intros with cats IF thats the case. That being said, we aren't currently recommending her to go to a home with cats. Winnie took a very harsh and intense correction from a kitty, but as soon as the kitty turns their back, Winnie is licking her lips and pulling towards the kitty, then a hiss hiss swat... and right back to lip licking and pulling. Her interaction was largely due to extreme over excitement, so we plan to retest her once Winnie improves her leash meeting skills.

Kids: Winnie LOVES the kiddos she has met so far. Again...Winnie is obsessed with any human that even looks at her...she is a true love bug! At this time, Winnie hasn't given us any reason to doubt her ability to live with a kiddo of any age.

Kennel: So far Winnie has been okay in her kennel. She does seem to show some separation anxiety...but on the separation anxiety "scale" Winnie isn't nearly anything "bad" but we can't say she's PERFECT. She is able to be crated in a regular wire kennel without escaping. When her foster mama gets home, Winnie likes to make sure her foster mom hasn't forgotten about her. She will let out some good Winnie whines/barks to make her presence known. But hey! keep reading to hear her story...and you won't hold this against her. We sure don't!

Potty trained: Yes. Caveat being she is currently having some urine leaking issues. We are working with the vet to get it under control, and we do not know if its a long-term/lifetime issue...or if it is a result of her surgeries vs. something she was born with.

Leash trained: Winnie does mostly okay on leash. When she sees another dog (trigger), thats when Winnie struggles. If the trigger is CLOSE, she will bark and pull in attempt to get closer. But Winnie is smart and working with a trainer on this! (starting 8/14/23). Reality...Winnie is a teeny tiny 40lbs pibble. She does currently pull and can be reactive...but luckily she is easier to control vs a larger dog! We have seen Winnie redirect from her triggers and we are super excited to see how she improves! Our rescue will continue to work with Winnie on this until she is adopted, and we will absolutely set her future adopter up for success with the tools and knowledge to continue to make her a great walker!

What is Winnie's background?
Winnie was found as a stray in Las Cruces on the side of the road. Upon her arrival to the shelter, they knew that Winnie needed more medical attention than they were able to provide...Winnie presented with extreme burns down her back. The general consensus and likely story would lead us to believe they are chemical burns. Upon arrival to ABQ, Winnie saw a vet to get spayed and to address her wounds. The vet was able to use a bunch of her loose skin to stitch her back up and her wounds are healed! The vet said that the wounds could be from chemical burns, fire burns, or even extreme sun burn (if she was left outside constantly with ZERO access to shade). Now Winnie is working on hopefully growing her hair back, but due to the amazing work by the vet...her wounds have healed faster and better than we imagined! Her potential adopter will have to be okay with Winnie being a short term or long term diaper dog. Our rescue will support Winnie's needs with her adopter until we have a more definitive answer about the urine leaking (AKA, shes currently on Proin to help with it!)

Winnie is a prime example of resilience. Even with what she has been through, she still loves humans so much. She has her quirks, but nothing crazy...and if youve ever had a blue pibble, you KNOW the blues are always crazy ;)

Adopt sweet tiny Winnie!