Surrendered dog with a reputation for bad behavior gets adopted into furever home by vet technician after she discovers that: ‘Winston is (actually) the best dog I've met.’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Dec 23, 2025 2:00 PM EST

If there is one thing to learn from this doggo story, it is that our poor puppers are given a set of standards that are much different than our own. Somehow, certain hoomans have this belief that doggos ought to be docile little darlings no matter what they are subjected to. As though they have no feelings, no perception of the world and no need to defend themselves when they are accosted.

Thankfully though, these people do no represent all hoomans on this planet and by the good grace of the vet tech who adopted this dalring doggo to save it from its languished life, the wonderful woofer known as Winston was granted a second chance at a happy and wholesome life. Yet another really good reason to always and only adopt doggos, they do not end up at shelters by mistake and they all deserve a chance at a happy life.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01
    "Suddenly he would get excited and do zoomies when one of us came home"
    via _felisin_
  • 02
    I work at a shelter as a tech. My husband made me promise when I started that I wouldn't bring home any more animals no matter what, since we already had two cats, and I am a cat person. But then Winston came in to the shelter. Winston
    via _felisin_
  • 03
    was surrendered at 4 years old by people who had adopted him from my shelter as a puppy. Why? "He's a little si.t" were the verbatim words spoken by the former owner. Before they bailed, they told us Winston
    via _felisin_
  • 04
    had 2 bites on his record and had many other unreported ones. While checking him out, we found that he was missing all the hair on the back half of his back and most of his tail, he had a giant tumor
    via _felisin_
  • 05
    on his back left leg, his ear hairs were severely matted and the ears were infected, his upper incisors were mostly ground down, and his toenails were almost curling into the pads. He also did not give 2 st. s while we were doing
    via _felisin_

  • Well, pardon our french but it sounds like the people who were trusted with Winston’s care were the little chocolate droppings and likely not so much the poor doggo who just wanted to be loved and well taken care off. After all, is it too much for a doggo to ask to be loved and cared for?

  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10590034176
    via _felisin_
  • 07
    all this stuff to him that normal dogs would not like. In fact, he was so easygoing that everyone wondered how he had ANY bites, reported or not. We called up Animal Control to get the full story.
    via _felisin_
  • 08
    The same officer responded to both calls, and was able to give some context. The previous owners left him in the backyard whenever they weren't home. He had access to food, water and shelter, but most of his time
    via _felisin_
  • 09
    was out there by himself. They ALSO left both of the gates to the backyard wide open, because they figured out he doesn't run away (to this day he "asks for permission" before following my husband or me off leash). So what
    via _felisin_
  • 10
    happened was...he was by himself, chewing himself bald, and he heard someone coming up the driveway and ran out to greet his owners. Only it turns out, it was just a delivery person. To be fair, Winston has the eyes of a psycho
    via _felisin_
  • 11
    Cheezburger Image 10590033664
    via _felisin_
  • 12
    clown k...er any time he's not sleeping. I don't blame the delivery drivers for reacting to a mus looking dog running at them. I also don't blame Winston for biting in response to being punted. And as it turned out, I
    via _felisin_
  • 13
    was told by the vet that removed the giant (benign) tumor on his leg that it's often caused by severe trauma...like being kicked. Anyway, I quickly discovered how awesome Winston is. He will go up to
    via _felisin_

  • Seriously?! What in the heckin heck is wrong with pepole? This is just not a decent way for any creature to be treated and anyone who would expect a dog to not defend itself in the case of being accosted is simply unreasonable. We would not expect any less from a hooman under duress so why would we set more docile standards for a dog?

  • 14
    anyone and just plop his head on their knee. If people want to hold him on their lap, that's fine too. Five kids want to come up and smoosh his face and give him kisses? Perfectly awesome. He doesn't care
    via _felisin_
  • 15
    E
    via _felisin_
  • 16
    about other dogs, no matter how intrusive they are being. He snuggles with cats. But it goes both ways. He doesn't care about food, or toys, or walking, playing, swimming, etc. Just sleeping in a
    via _felisin_
  • 17
    comfortable spot. I knew he was the perfect dog for my husband and me, because we needed a super mellow dog that didn't need a ton of exercise, due to our work schedules. But the biggest thing for me
    via _felisin_
  • 18
    was that a dog will be euthanized after 3 recorded bites. I could not let this amazing dog go home with a person who didn't understand him and might put him in a position to bite again. Like I said, my husband didn't want
    via _felisin_
  • 19
    any more animals, but I managed to cajole him into letting Winston come to our house for an overnight stay. If he didn't get along with our cats, the roommates or the other dog, I wouldn't adopt him. If he chewed
    via _felisin_
  • 20
    anything, had accidents, or ran away, I wouldn't adopt him. Guess what? He was PERFECT. My husband said the morning I was taking him back "Yeah we have to have him."
    via _felisin_
  • 21
    Cheezburger Image 10590033408
    via _felisin_
  • 22
    We adopted him, and he was a great little dog. But he always seemed to think we were going to hurt him or abandon him. We gave him tons of toys, treats, beds, etc. He probably didn't like it, but I
    via _felisin_
  • 23
    gave him special food, medication and baths so he could stop itching. I cleaned his ears out and trimmed his nails. Eventually, Winston got to spend all day on the couch watching TV, spending the
    via _felisin_
  • 24
    evenings going on walks and cuddling, then sleeping in the bed. But still, he seemed scared of us. I don't know what changed, but it was almost exactly a year from when we adopted him that his attitude shifted.
    via _felisin_
  • 25
    Suddenly he would get excited and do zoomies when one of us came home, or when he was about to go on a walk. Instead of just being in bed with us, he would prop his head up on a leg or arm. He started to nose poke to get
    via _felisin_
  • 26
    someone to put their arm over him, or grunt when he wasn't getting attention. Rolling on his back and snorting until he gets belly rubs is pretty common. I don't even know why I went on this
    via _felisin_
  • 27
    rant, other than to say how much I love my dog, and how much I hope no one gives up on a shelter dog until it's clear it's necessary. Winston is the best dog I've met, and I'm not just saying that because he's my buddy now.
    via _felisin_

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

bad surrender behavior dogs best discovery reddit story adopted technician dog story vet furever home
Scroll Down For The Next Article