Winston

If you're like me, and someone doesn't post for awhile, you wonder what happened.  You know I moved, which made me extremely busy, then I didn't have wifi, then I got wifi, then we went on small get-away, and I tried posting.  And now, this.....the hardest post I've ever written.

You remember when we got Winston?  How many times did you hear me say , "I will never rescue another dog", "I will never have another male dog,"  "I am going to give him away".....well, it's all of those reasons that I miss him so much today.

He wormed his way into our family and our hearts.  My Sister insisted we all bring our dogs for this photo shoot.  I didn't want to.  I said, "Theresa, no one likes my dogs.  They are the hoodlums on the block!"  She said BRING THEM and stop trying to get out of it.  So I did.

It didn't take much for my Shug to fall in love with him.  He likes rowdy dogs.  And Winston was rowdy.  When he wasn't asleep, he was going 100 mph. 

You couldn't leave the car door open or he'd jump in.  It didn't matter if someone was in your car, or if he knew you or not.  He loved bye-bye. 

My Shug always said, "he'd go with anyone that will give him a ride."

So many times when I watched the boys, he would go jump in their car and try to go home with them. 

He loved kids. 

And mischief! 

And yarn!

And don't even try to go swimming without him.

At first he always stayed on the edge of the pond...

but Dave would take him out a little bit and let him swim back to shore...

He would go out a little further each time with Winston, and then Winston would swim back.  

Once he got the hang of it, there was no stopping him.

You couldn't even go fishing, because anything you threw in the water, fishing line included, he retrieved. 

He loved coming out to the country with Dave so much that he knew his morning routine.  He knew when Dave was going to work by what he did every morning.  And he knew when Davewas coming to the country to work our house. 

And for two years, Dave brought him with him while he worked out here.

He couldn't get out of the house without him.  He just couldn't.

Winston loved swimming with the kids.

And he was so smart.  When he wanted attention and I was on the computer, he'd go stand by this chair and look at me.  I caught him rubbing/scratching himself on the side of it one time and I said, "Winston - stop it!"  From that point on, he'd go stand there like he was going to rub himself, just waiting for me to yell at him.

And when we moved to the country, oh boy was he a happy dog.  You see, Winston wasn't a town dog.  He hated town.  And town, pretty much, didn't like him.  Most of our neighbors complained about him at one time or another.  But out here, the neighbors loved him.  One of our neighbors would feed him dog treats and he knew where they kept them.  He'd go to their house, get treats, and come back home.  He took the back way to their house.  And he loved riding on the tractor with Ron.

I even told Dave the other day, he is a different dog out here.  I like him!  He got along better with Dixie out here too.  He kind of acted like a big brother.

He wasn't much for paying attention, standing still, or wearing scarves!

But he loved my Shug. 

They were inseparable.

And My Shug said Winston would probably have a short life out here in the country, because he refused to be tied up. Oh we tried....and tried.  One time when I was in my beehives, I tied him up and he barked for three solid hours.  My friend left with a headache.  Winston just went crazy being tied up. 

We got Winston when he was five and we don't know what kind of life he had before his life with us.  But being on a chain wouldn't work.  And I know some of you think we are irresponsible for letting him run, but my Shug said he'd rather see him have a short happy life, than a long miserable one tied up to a chain going crazy.

We miss you Winston.

Cindy Bee