Winnie the Pooh is a female Golden Retriever who turns five this July. She’s the third Golden we’ve welcomed into our family from the same wonderful breeder, and she’s brought just as much love, laughter, and golden fluff as the others before her.

It was during the height of Covid, while we were all staying home, that we decided it was time to add another pup to our family. On a whim, we reached out to the breeder - never expecting she’d have any available. To our surprise and delight, she told us she had a litter expected to be ready in September 2020. We didn’t get to pick her out because of Covid, and I’m ok with that. I couldn’t imagine my life without Winnie.

Growing up, my mom and aunt’s favorite childhood character was Winnie the Pooh. So when we saw the golden fluffiness of our new pup, we instantly knew that she had to be named Winnie. When she gets into trouble, we sometimes shorten it to “WTP” for scolding purposes. But most of the time, she’s just our sweet Winnie. Winnie is truly the most lovable dog in the world! What makes her unique, though, is her love for people over other dogs. While some might find it a little funny—or even annoying—that she ignores the pups at the dog park and instead makes a beeline for the humans, we think it’s just part of her charm. She has a way of spreading her golden warmth to everyone she meets.

Winnie is a fantastic retriever – seriously! We can play fetch with her for hours, and she never gets tired of bringing the ball right back to us. Well… unless we’re at the dog park. Then, for some reason, she prefers to bring the ball to a random stranger instead. Classic Winnie.

We often call her “Princess” or “Baby” - because, well, she’s totally spoiled. And her favorite toys match her royal personality perfectly. She’s obsessed with her unicorn stuffy and her magic wand stuffy, classic choices for a dog who clearly believes she’s the star of her own fairytale.

Winnie is definitely a water dog at heart. Whether we’re vacationing at the lake in Michigan or spending a day at the beach, she runs straight into the water, splashing with joy. Her favorite spot is the bow of the boat, where she sits like royalty—wind in her face—playing “King of the World.”But one lake day stands out. After a swim, we couldn’t get her back on the boat. True to her princess nature, she simply laid there, refusing to help as one of us tried to push from behind and another attempted to pull from the front. No luck. Finally, a kind man on a jet ski came to the rescue, scooping her up and whisking her to shore where we could retrieve her. We laugh about it now, and ever since, Winnie never goes into the water without her pink life vest, complete with a handle, just in case her royal highness needs to be lifted out again.

Winnie has two adorable cousins—Daisy and Charlie—and the three of them are inseparable. They love to playfully spar, munch on ice cubes, and soak up as many tummy rubs as they can get from anyone nearby. But the absolute cutest moment? When all three are fast asleep, piled on top of each other like a furry cuddle puddle. It’s pure joy.

We love taking Winnie for golf cart rides and walks around the neighborhood, she’s always curious and excited to see what’s going on. On lucky days, she has the entire dog park to herself and gets to play endless games of catch. But her favorite place of all is the boat. Nothing beats the wind in her face and the freedom of the open water, she’s truly in her element out on the water.

A few months ago, when the internet was buzzing with the viral Barbie toy trend, we couldn’t resist joining in, and of course, we had to make one for Winnie. Since she’s a total water-loving pup, her “Barbie box” included props like sunglasses, life vests, and water toys. The AI-generated image we created captured her personality to a T—playful, adventurous, and always ready for lake vibing!