FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – As the animal advocate here at Local 10, you may have heard my mantra once or twice: “Adopt, don’t shop.”
They’re words I live by in my home with all my rescue animals -- two dogs and a hamster – yes, you can adopt hamsters too!
But that phrase hits the home and hearts of many of my colleagues too.
So today, I’m bringing you a little treat by taking you to the Weinsier family home, which is full of dogs, all adopted from one very special place.
Little Macy and brand new puppy mama Carly Weinsier are madly in love.
“She’s everything we could have asked for in a puppy. She’s the sweetest little girl, she sleeps right next to me on my neck and she loves to cuddle,” Carly said.
If Macy looks a bit familiar but a bit bigger, that’s because you saw her right here on Local 10 during our 9 a.m. Pick Your Pet segment just a few weeks ago.
Local 10′s Jeff Weinsier peeped two puppies for his family and was already texting his kids before we were even off the air.
“Well, I guess you could say that it’s dangerous when Cherie comes to Channel 10 to show off puppies because several times already they have wound up at my house!” he said.
Within hours, Jeff’s daughter Carly drove from Tampa straight to the Broward Humane Society, claiming the blonde girl as her own and the brindle boy for her brother Jack.
“Jack was like, ‘Well, I want the brindle puppy’ and I said, ‘They are siblings. You can’t separate them’” Carly said.
But these two new babies are joining a long list of rescue munchkins in the Weinsier household.
Willy, 5, was adopted immediately after the Parkland school shooting when we all needed some extra love.
Then there’s 7-year-old Sweetie, who was saved from Puerto Rico and old man Tebow, who is now retired from his playing days.
New puppy Zo joins his adopted brother Bam with Jack in northern Florida, and of course, Macy with Carly.
That’s a total of five furry lives saved!
“My rescue dogs appreciate everything. I think they know they hit the lottery,” Jeff said.
“I think they really know that you rescued them and that you want them and you love them,” Carly added.
And rescuing homeless animals is now a generational tradition among the Weinsier clan.
“I’m a sucker for puppies,” Jeff said. “I mean, I’m a sucker for dogs! People who know me and know me well will tell you that I probably like animals more than I like people.”
If you would like to see the animals up for adoption at the Humane Society of Broward County, click here.