Winston

Winston is the first Old Dog Haven pup that his forever family has had the joy of loving. When he arrived in his new home, he was a pretty anxious guy. He’d recently had twelve teeth pulled as well as a large ulcerated mass removed from his side, along with a few smaller assorted bumps removed.

Dear Winston was a perfect gentleman from the start, but it took him some time to settle in.  Just a few days after his arrival, he managed to bolt out the front door and was heading for a very busy street – thankfully his new mom and 11 year old human brother were able to catch him! Once he got used to the rhythm of his new surroundings, however, he learned to trust his new humans. His anxiety has eased somewhat, although he still really doesn’t like to be alone and greets his humans (especially his mom) with tremendous joy when they come home. His mom figured out that he’s scared of little things like his tags clanking on metallic bowls, so he now enjoys his meals from silicon bowls.

Winston has a heart murmur, has had a couple of seizures, and has early liver disease, but thanks to Old Dog Haven, those are closely monitored and medicated/supplemented so that he can enjoy life to its fullest with his family.

He shares his home with his mom and dad and two human siblings, along with two resident Rough Collies, two dog friendly cats, and another ODH dog – a chihuahua named Jerry. Winston prefers to pretend that other animals don’t exist in his universe for the most part, but he occasionally plays with the resident big dogs and snuggles with little Jerry.

Winston loves long walks, the more interesting things that there are to smell, the better. Small stuffed toys are a favorite of his, he especially loves to toss them around and pounce on them, and then shake them for all he’s worth! Food is probably his very most favorite thing – just ask anyone who’s met him at an ODH meet and greet event, he can show you exactly where every store he’s been to keeps their treats!

Winston’s humans take dog friendly vacations and he especially loves the annual trip to a mountain lake town where old dogs, younger dogs, and happy humans alike sprawl in the sun and love their family time. Life is good when you’re an Old Dog Haven pup in a loving home.

Update:  Winston’s health issues finally took over and with much sadness his Final Refuge family had to say goodbye.  This little fellow really enjoyed his new home and was very loved and cared for.  He was a great ODH ambassador and will be truly missed.