Bill Bernardo
Founder's Story
In the late 60s, Bill Bernardo, Founder of WINPRO spent his early days riding his bike and dodging bullies on the streets of Algona, Iowa. For Bill, life was bleak; that is, until his dad brought home Yankee. The beautiful collie and German Shepherd mix instantly became Bill’s best friend, who he later said was his only friend in the world at that time.
Yankee and Bill were inseparable. They also owed each other their lives. While Bill once saved Yankee moments before death as he was choking on a chicken bone, Yankee saved Bill moments before he was attacked by a rabid rat, bravely intercepting and killing the rodent. The bond these two shared was unmatched, in a way that only two “strays” can truly understand each other.
Yankee set in motion Bill’s unmatched love of dogs. Although Yankee lived a long life and was always at Bill’s side, as every dog lover knows, it’s never enough time. Losing your best, truest friend, no matter how inevitable, is a pain we never fully recover from. The love and appreciation that Yankee kindled in Bill for dogs has stayed with him his entire life.
Later in life while Bill was working in the animal health industry he saw first-hand what plasma can do for animals. He saw it work like a fountain of youth, a silver bullet that protected and nurtured them; even helping them cheat death in some cases. If it were up to Bill, dogs, especially dogs like Yankee, would live forever.
This is why he created WINPRO. Even though they can’t live forever, the power of plasma can help push back that awful day, and every additional day with a dog you love, well, to Bill, that is forever.