Winston
A donation was made in memory of Winston by Kevin Choy on Oct 11, 2011.
He went by many names. Winston. Win-bear. Win-bo. And, inexplicably, Fruitbat.
We rescued Winston and his sister back in 2001 from a shelter in the San Fernando Valley and he marked his territory immediately by peeing on my sweater.
Of course, his road was difficult from the start. Just a couple of weeks later, both Winston and his sister came down with a severe case of parvo. They both came through, but we believe they were the only two from their litter that survived the outbreak.
While he may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed (that honor goes to his sister, who we are pretty sure got Winston in trouble for many of her misdeeds), he was definitely a looker. Hence his other well known moniker: the Male Model. He certainly had the temperment of a divalicious runway-strutter, just laying down when he didn’t want to do something. And good lord was he strong! But being the sweetest guy ever, the only way you’d know was when he “put on the brakes” and just lay down and looked at you to express his clear intention to not go where you wanted him to.
Near the end of his story, the great folks at WSU and (and his local vet) diagnosed him as having a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. His radiation, chemo treatments and medication improved his quality of life and let him enjoy two vacations this summer, combining two of the things he loved best -- riding in the car and trotting along the beach, trying to eat jellyfish.
On our last long drive out to WSU I had a sense Winston was giving me a message. We pulled off at a rest stop on the east side of the Cascades in the early morning hours and as I was picking him up out of his car, he peed on me again. And so we had come full circle.
When I picked him up for the last time at the hospital we had one final run together--he was so eager to get back to his car, his rear legs worked despite the tumors.
Man, he was awesome.
11.1.00-10.11.11
Michelle, Hana and OJ
We rescued Winston and his sister back in 2001 from a shelter in the San Fernando Valley and he marked his territory immediately by peeing on my sweater.
Of course, his road was difficult from the start. Just a couple of weeks later, both Winston and his sister came down with a severe case of parvo. They both came through, but we believe they were the only two from their litter that survived the outbreak.
While he may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed (that honor goes to his sister, who we are pretty sure got Winston in trouble for many of her misdeeds), he was definitely a looker. Hence his other well known moniker: the Male Model. He certainly had the temperment of a divalicious runway-strutter, just laying down when he didn’t want to do something. And good lord was he strong! But being the sweetest guy ever, the only way you’d know was when he “put on the brakes” and just lay down and looked at you to express his clear intention to not go where you wanted him to.
Near the end of his story, the great folks at WSU and (and his local vet) diagnosed him as having a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. His radiation, chemo treatments and medication improved his quality of life and let him enjoy two vacations this summer, combining two of the things he loved best -- riding in the car and trotting along the beach, trying to eat jellyfish.
On our last long drive out to WSU I had a sense Winston was giving me a message. We pulled off at a rest stop on the east side of the Cascades in the early morning hours and as I was picking him up out of his car, he peed on me again. And so we had come full circle.
When I picked him up for the last time at the hospital we had one final run together--he was so eager to get back to his car, his rear legs worked despite the tumors.
Man, he was awesome.
11.1.00-10.11.11
Michelle, Hana and OJ
