Winona

Winona is an adoptable female American Staffordshire Terrier looking for a home at Hillsborough County Animal Services in Tampa, Florida. She is fully grown and large in size. She is currently on the shelter's euthanasia list with only 2 days left, listed due to lack of space. Adopting Winona, or even sharing her story, could save a life before it's too late.

--- 22-AUG-26 - Interact - 08/21/26 13:39 Per Volunteer: Winona was jumping w excitement when I approached kennel. I leashed her then put on her harness. She was not dog reactive but pulled hard on the leash, trying to smell everything. Very eager to enter play yard. In yard she quickly explored all around w loose body, perky ears, and relaxed mouth. She sniffed every toy type but preferred plushies with squeaks inside. Drank from pool but no interest in getting in. Lay down a few times to chew on stuffie. Sought closeness to me, really liked back and butt scratches. Got a tiny bit mouthy - very gently though - when she wanted more petting. Pulled back on return to kennel, wanting to chew on grass and take her time. Easy to unharness and unleash back at her kennel. - CL --- 20-AUG-26 - Foster - 08/20/26 08:51 Adventure tail: Winona was fabulous, from the time she excitedly greeted me to reluctantly said goodbye. She was good with getting in the car, mostly able to do it all on her own but needing a bit of encouragement initially and after a long walk. She waited until I gave her the "okay" to jump out of the car which was helpful. She was also great on the leash! The only time she pulled was when she saw a potential friend. As you know, she is so incredibly social and just loves people. We went to a few parks and stores and her primary focus each time was locking eyes with a friendly human, then approaching for pets. There were a few times she jumped after being greeted, but this was fairly correctable and she would even sit when she noticed they weren't rewarding this behavior. Winona is such a smart girl! She loved to drive with the windows down and would not attempt to climb out of the car. She sat in both the front and rear passenger seats, and much prefers the backseat when driving. I was initially cautioned that she may get a bit mouthy when excited, but she wasnt bad. Again, this wasn't something that continued beyond a few times when she realized she shouldn't. She loved her pup cup and really wanted to go into Starbucks to thank the workers (and customers), but stood as an outside door greeter. We didn't interact with any animals, but she did amazing with letting a squirrel pass and going back to her walk, unphased. One of the highlights of the day was at the first park - a thunderstorm was beginning to form so I wanted to hurry back to the car. I started a light jog and she matched my pace with an excited tail wag. It looked like she really enjoyed it. Later, she looked back while we were walking and increased her pace, as to check to see if I was ok with running again. We did and she once again lit up with excitement, while still consistently turning her head to look back at me and make sure I was still running with her! It was precious, so we did a few mini-runs today and I hope she gets some great sleep! --- 13-AUG-26 - Interact - 08/13/26 14:35 Was easy to leash had decent pull to play yard. In play yard dog cruised around before dog started to run around and play with staff. Dog would mouth staffs hands but would re direct onto toys. No issues returning to kennel. LM --- 31-JUL-26 - Interact - 07/31/26 16:15 Winona was standing at the kennel door when staff approached. She was easy to harness and she walked very well to the yard. In the yard, Winona allowed all petting. She played fetch and tug o' war with a rope toy. There were no issues returning to the kennel. - NS --- 20-JUL-26 - Interact - 07/20/26 14:24 Winona was resting on the outside portion of her kennel. As RM came to approach she did a few jumps of excitment. But settled fast once the gate was opening and she put her head right through the leash. Once out of kennel she had a decent pull to the yard. Once in yard she pottied and sniffed around. RM brought out treats and she had a slight zoomies for them and performed a sit to recieve them. She gave paw and laydown. She had a happy loose jumpy body the whole time out with her. She solicited so many pets and attention. Harness leashed her to return to yard and she walked right by handlers side. Entered her kennel nicley and proceeded to play with her toy inside her kennel. RM --- 17-JUL-26 - Interact - 07/16/26 Per volunteer: Winona came to the gate wagging her tail. She wiggled around while being harnessed, but dropping a treat got her to stand still long enough to attach the harness and she went to the yard with just a slight pull. She sniffed around in the yard for a few minutes, then came over and sat for treats and pets. She took the treats gently. She didn't show any interest in toys but she chased treat pieces that were tossed for her. She posed for a photo and then followed another trail of treats back down. For the rest of the play time, she sniffed around the yard and came over for pets a few more times. She then trotted to the gate, was easy to leash and went back to her kennel with just a slight pull, ignoring the other dogs along the way. --- 15-JUL-26 - Interact - 07/15/26 11:08 - Approached the gate with wiggly body and tail wag; LB entered the kennel to harness Winona. She became jumpy and pawed roughly, but calmed and stood to be harnessed. She walked with a loose leash, occasionally dashing forward. When released into the yard she cruised with high tail and relaxed body, grazing on grass. She picked up a toy and brought it to LB, pushing it into their lap until LB played tug. Although Winona vocalized loudly while playing she was not rough and remained appropriate, standing for petting with tail wag when play stopped. She was walked and returned to her kennel without issue. - LB --- 20-JUN-26 - Interact - 06/20/26 15:39 Winona was standing at the kennel door when staff approached. Staff placed a harness on Winona and walked her iwth no issues to the yard. In the yard, Winona sniffed around the perimeter. She approached staff and leaned on them for pets. She allowed petting all over. She got excited and high energy from the petting. She played tug o' war and fetch with a stuffed toy. There were no issues returning to the kennel. - NS --- 10-JUN-26 - Interact - 06/01/26 10:55 Per Volunteer: Winona (A2491714) was easy to leash, walking with a moderate pull, ignoring dogs. She bounced around the yard as soon as we entered, playing with toys and running up for pets. We played fetch with a number of toys and she shared them easily, readying for the next throw. She was treat motivated and gentle taking them. She stopped playing frequently to seek affection; then went back to playing. She jumped up on the kiddy slide for treats and pets. She was again playful in the garden, climbing on rocks, playing on the waterfall and among the plants. She took off a couple times to do long zoomie runs around the garden; then come up to sit in front of me for attention. She lay by me on a rock for pets; then took a walk in the parking lot. She walked with a light pull in the lot and when going back to her kennel. - CL --- 06-JUN-26 - Foster - 06/06/26 13:30 - foster plea for assistance sent mc --- 04-JUN-26 - Interact - 06/04/26 15:24 Winona was standing in front of the kennel door with a loose body. As staff grabbed the old harness, leash, and collar, she began to jump on the door and shake her head repeatedly. When staff stepped inside to fit the new harness, Winona jumped on staff. When staff tried to put to new harness on, Winona pulled or jumped away from staff. The first two harnesses that were brought were not a good fit, and staff had to step out to grab a third one. When staff returned, much of the same behavior was seen again. The third harness was a good fit. -KR- --- 04-JUN-26 - Interact - 06/04/26 15:28 Somewhat of a continuation from the previous "In Kennel" notes. Once Winona was out of the kennel, she walked with a moderate-to-strong pull. She did not demonstrate any noticeable reactivity. In the yard, Winona kept to herself for a while, especially focusing on one spot by continuously sniffing it. After staff tossed a treat, she came up to staff and stayed nearby for the majority of the remaining time. Winona appeared to understand "sit" and took treats mostly gently. She got mouthy for a bit and went after staff's hand before playing with a rope toy. As staff prepared to leave with Winona, she jumped up and bit staff's treat bag multiple times. She required a good bit of redirection to get calmed down. Once at the kennel, Winona was easy to release. -KR- --- 03-JUN-26 - Medical - 06/03/26 15:09 HR Winona did very well for her medicated bath, pulls on leash, did not use her usual harness as i did not wat it to get wet. Enjoyed the scrubbing of the shampoo and ended up getting hyper and the zoomies during her bath. During drying with the towels, she did get hyper and become a bit mouthy with the towels, thinking they were tug-of-war toys. Allowed to redirect, walked back to kennel nicely and unleashed good. --- 26-MAY-26 - Interact - 05/25/26 14:29 Per Volunteer: She stood quietly for leashing without barking or jumping. In the yard, she played with soft toys independently and played fetch with the handler. She is also treat motivated. - CL --- 21-MAY-26 - Interact - 05/21/26 15:36 was easy to leash had decent pull to play yard. In play yard dog ran around with toy and would iniate play with staff putting the toy in staffs lap multiple times. Dog saw two dogs pass and kept palying with toy stopping for just a second and putting up ears before returning to playing with toy. Dog had loose posture and mouth open the entire time. No issues returning to kennel. LM Name: Winona Animal ID: A2491714 Breed: American Staffordshire Terrier Sex: Female - Spayed Kennel: B20 Intake Date: 15-MAR-26 Microchip: 991001911530764 Age: 4Y Weight: 71.7 lbs Days at Shelter: 291