About Winnie
A two-legged puppy Winnie, also known as Winston, is possibly the most friendly and charming pup at Charlotte’s Freedom Farm. The farm located in Ontario is a rescue farm that rehabilitates animals with health problems and orphaned ones.
If you are a visitor to the farm or one among the 200 animals that live there, you’re likely to run into the small pup along with his big wheels, and he’ll surely greet you with a big friendly smile.
Winnie- as he’s lovingly called, manages to stay cheerful all the time despite his disability. He was brought to the Ontario Farm during the summer months. His caretaker and the founder of Charlotte’s Freedom Farm, Lauren Edwards, shared the story behind his condition.
Winnie’s Special!
Winnie could not properly develop in the womb and came out with weak and underdeveloped front legs. His sternum, too, was not fully formed and did not connect to his ribs.
This is why Winnie needs help to walk and run around.
But Winnie is now doing exceptionally well and likes to play like any other puppy. Winnie even found a best friend in a piglet named Wilma.
Edwards has grown extremely fond of little Winnie and loves him a lot. She learned about Winnie from a coworker at the Farm who, in turn, heard about him from a pet wheelchair designer.
Winnie’s siblings were doing a lot better than him, and he was struggling even to stay alive. This was when Edwards decided to take Winnie under her wing as a 4-week old puppy.
At the farm, Winnie gained strength and became an energetic little one, with his front legs being no hindrance to his playtime. his chest, which was unprotected due to his undeveloped sternum, was a matter of worry for Edwards.
On top of that, he was affected with a hernia in the same region. Edwards was worried that the other animals might hurt him while playing. Even a minor injury could be fatal for Winnie.
So Edwards shielded Winnie from all the other animals except for Wilma. Being around Wilma, Winnie did not mind not having his other friends around.
Wilma being small and young herself, spent a lot of time inside with Winnie. She was gentle enough to not cause harm to Winnie, so they were allowed to play together. Their first interaction involved play wrestling, which is the cutest thing to see, according to Edwards.
Now Wilma is all grown and spends time outside. But the two buddies continue to meet and have play dates regularly. They love wrestling with each other. Edwards says that Wilma even caught some dog habits from Winnie.
Winnie has a chest protector and a better wheelchair that allows him more mobility. He has made many more friends, from the other dogs to the cats at the farm. He’s super friendly with the visitors too. He enjoys spending time with everyone and shows them his love.
As Winnie gets older, he is going to require surgery which will be a considerable expense. But luckily, a popular social media account named WeRateDogs utilized their platform and raised around 19,000 USD for Winnie.
This is Winston. He was born with both an underdeveloped sternum and front arms. He needs a series of chest reconstruction surgeries and he’s growing so fast he needs a new set of wheels every other week. You can help him and his rescuers below. 14/10https://t.co/NlQO4WN6iE pic.twitter.com/Vsj6AlV6AD
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) September 10, 2021
Right now, Winnie is having the best of times. He’s learning to do different things with his wheelchair, like getting on and off the couch. Edwards feels that life will throw challenges at Winnie, but this cheerful little guy will be able to pull through every one of them and shine.
To witness joyful Winnie’s daily adventures, follow the pup on Instagram @winnie_the_roo_.
