Winston

From his Final Refuge Mom:

“Please welcome the marvelous Winston, an 11 year old yellow lab who thinks he’s the George Clooney of the furry set.

“He didn’t start out that way though. Dear Winston and another small sickly dog were found under a tree all alone. Unfortunately, once taken to the shelter, the female had to be euthanized.  Winston came to the shelter also with ear canals full of thick pus, lichenification on head and body, skin areas that if pressed would result in purulent discharge, front legs that would only totter while his back legs would swing out, his paws would knuckle, and his breathing sounded like a freight train!

“Fortunately Old Dog Haven caught word of Winston and with the great ODH transporters, scooted that poor sad sack to our hairy house of bark! Once he was seen by our vets he received a pain plan, antibiotics, medications, x-rays, labs, vaccines – all making sure Winston was on the right track to becoming well. Because of ODH and it’s donors, he was provided the ability for having the best care for the rest of his life.

“Our Winnie is improving every day. He does his best to distract us from anything tasty that might be close enough to scarf from the counters. Loves to park his behind on any dog pads big or small (of which we have many). And he groans softly when we cover him at night with his special blanket. He’s excellent at trying to cram two tugs and a ball in his mouth to carry around the yard to play. And with enough time and meds, Winston can run which is a joy in itself. He weighed a 105lbs at the shelter and now he’s down to 87lbs today after his checkup. Our sweet Gus (ODH), who crossed the Rainbow Bridge recently will pass the torch to Winston in working on getting through that doggone dog door!

“And thank you ODH for each of the dogs that have come over our threshold and enriched our lives. So glad you exist.”

Update:  Our big boy Winnie continues now to do his runs at a faster pace with me since he got down to 75lbs. Getting through the dog door is no longer an issue. Still shouts out his joy during ‘walks’. His last checkup, the vet said Winston had ‘amazing lab results’.
(Of course, he’s an amazing lab!)

He loves to play ‘hide’ by covering his eyes with his paws and pretends he’s invisible while I ask ‘where’d you go?’ and rub his belly. Enjoy seeing him curled up with our new guy Titan. The two scout out every park and every refrigerator. Our dear Winnie is just a big old wild child and we hope he never changes.

Update:  Winston spent almost one year with us. So much running, so much happy barking so much love.
He had only a brief time of illness, confusion, and pain where, in the end, we held him as he continued on his way to further adventures and if we know our boy, peanut butter is somehow involved.