Meet Winnie: The Heart Behind Rooted’s Happiest Employee

If you’ve visited Rooted, you’ve probably met Winnie.

She may have greeted you at the register, watched you shop from her favorite spot in the middle of the floor, or stood by the glass doors at Rooted on Main, keeping an eye on the University of Delaware students passing by. She is six years old, an English cream golden retriever, and, according to her owner and Rooted co-owner Ashley Rector, very much likes to be the center of attention.

“Oh she wants to run the show. She’s at the register waiting for someone to give her a treat or pet her. She’s greeting every customer.”

In other words, Winnie is Rooted’s number one employee. Our customers seem to agree, regularly picking up Tail Banger Treats to keep her well compensated for her hard work. She may have even gained a few happy pounds since beginning her rounds at Rooted.

But beneath the treats, belly rubs and enthusiastic greetings is a story that goes much deeper.

Winnie is a certified therapy dog, and her journey into that role began with another golden retriever, a difficult season in Ashley’s family, and a desire to share the comfort that a dog can bring when people need it most.

It Started With Rocky

Before there was Winnie, there was Rocky.

Rocky was Winnie’s older brother, and he was the first dog in Ashley’s family to become a certified therapy dog. The idea came during a challenging period in Ashley and her husband Brandon’s life, when Brandon was receiving treatment for alcohol addiction at Bowling Green Rehab in Toughkenamon.

While Brandon was away, Ashley found a source of comfort in Rocky. His calm, gentle presence helped her through the uncertainty of that time.

Brandon noticed it, too.

After completing treatment, and now nine years sober, Brandon reflected on the comfort Rocky had provided for Ashley and their family. He thought Rocky could offer that same kind of companionship to people going through treatment themselves.

For Ashley and Brandon, therapy work became a way to give back.

They wanted to share the kind of comfort Rocky had given their family with people who were experiencing the difficult physical and emotional realities of recovery.

“Mentally and physically, they’re struggling. They are in rough shape. Getting off whatever they were addicted to. They are going through it. So they loved when pet therapy would be coming through the rehab.”

It was a simple idea: take something that had brought their family comfort and offer it to someone else who might need a little light.

Then Came Winnie

A few years after they started volunteering with Rocky, Ashley and her family welcomed Winnie into their lives.

And Winnie turned out to have a personality perfectly suited to her future work.

“She’s a chill girl. To the point where sometimes she’s like ‘don’t bother me.’”

That relaxed nature is part of what makes Winnie so approachable. She doesn’t rush people or demand attention. She simply wanders over, offers an open-mouth grin, waits to see if you’d like to pet her, and then happily returns to her favorite spot on the floor.

After COVID brought volunteering to a halt and Rocky left for doggie heaven way too soon, Ashley found herself wanting to return to therapy work.

“I started getting that itch again to give back.”

By then, Winnie had already become a source of comfort for Ashley herself.

“Winnie was like a therapy dog for me.” When Rocky passed, Winnie stayed especially close to Ashley. “She was very clingy to me. She was more focused, like, I’ll be fine, but I need to make sure my mom is so good.”

Getting Winnie certified felt like a natural next chapter because as Ashley correctly figures, “Dogs make everybody happy.”

What Does It Take to Become a Therapy Dog?

Being a therapy dog involves more than simply being friendly. Dogs need to be comfortable around new people and environments and able to listen to their handlers when they’re working.

For Winnie, the biggest challenge was something surprisingly simple: walking on a short leash.

At home, Winnie was accustomed to frolicking in the yard freely.

“She just roams the yard and doesn’t run off.” Says Ashley. 

Therapy visits are different. A dog needs to be able to walk calmly beside their handler, even when there are plenty of people around to greet.

“We weren’t really used to a leash for a little while,” Ashley remembers, “That’s where I had to spend most of my time working on was not having her pull.”

Ashley practiced with Winnie regularly, taking her to Lowe’s once or twice a week and working on calm leash walking. Whenever Winnie tried to pull toward someone she wanted to meet, Ashley consistently redirected her.

For dogs interested in becoming therapy animals, basic skills like walking well on a leash, lying down and staying on command are important. Therapy dogs can work in places ranging from schools and libraries to nursing homes and community events. Wiinie and Rocky were certified through a local organizations PAWS for People. Beyond certification, they offer volunteer opportunities depending on your interests, availability and level of training.

The goal isn’t to turn a dog into someone they’re not. It’s to help a dog who genuinely enjoys people become a reliable, comfortable companion in settings where that connection can make a difference.

Winnie, for her part, seems to think meeting people is the best job in the world.

“Winnie wants all of the attention. She’s never phased by it. She loves the kids and the people.” 

The Moments That Stay With You

Over time, Ashley and Winnie have had countless opportunities to see just how meaningful that connection can be.

One visit in particular has stayed with Ashley.

They were working at a school with children with special needs when they met a young boy who was nonverbal due to his autism. His aide explained that he wasn’t typically very expressive.

When he met Winnie, something changed.

“He was smiling with Winnie and sort of snuggling with her.”

For Ashley, moments like that are what therapy work is really about.

There doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Sometimes it’s simply a dog sitting beside someone, offering a little comfort and a reason to smile.

Winnie’s Favorite Place to Work Might Be Rooted

Winnie gets plenty of opportunities to put her therapy-dog skills to work right here at Rooted.

She’s a familiar face across our stores, but she has a particularly special connection with the students who visit Rooted on Main. Many college students are living away from their pets for the first time, and a few minutes with Winnie can feel like a little piece of home.

“The college kids, they miss their dog at home. They’re homesick.” Ashley feels for the students,”They’re so happy to pet her.”

Winnie has become so beloved by the Rooted on Main community that Ashley hosts Pups N Cups each spring semester, giving students a chance to grab a cup of coffee, take a break from the stress of finals, and spend some time with Winnie and her furry friends.

It is a small thing, but sometimes small things are exactly what people need.

Share What Fills Your Heart

Ashley believes that when you find something that brings you genuine joy, you shouldn’t keep it to yourself.

For Winnie, that means greeting customers, making students smile, visiting people who need a little extra comfort, and accepting as many belly rubs and Tail Banger Treats as the Rooted community is willing to give her.

For Ashley, it’s a reminder that sometimes the smallest sources of joy can become something much bigger.

And for all of us at Rooted, we’re just lucky that one of those sources of joy happens to have four paws, a very relaxed attitude, and a habit of lying directly in the middle of the walkway.