About 12 years ago, I lost my little girl, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi-mix named Heather who I rescued from the Tacoma, WA animal shelter back in 1987. I was devastated at the time, but I fully believe her spirit guided me to ForPaws.org Corgi Rescue because she knew her time was short, and she also knew another Corgi nearby was in need of a home. After her loss, I contacted Kathy, the ForPaws.org admin about the possibility of adopting a dog from the mid-west she had featured, and she informed me that while I was welcome to apply to adopt the dog I was asking about, there was a local rescue worker (who was also named “Heather”, of all things) who had a 1 year-old pup, purchased by a family based purely on looks, who had no idea of Corgi temperament. He was very much in need of a home, as she was planning on moving out of the area soon. His name was Winston, but Heather explained that his former owners had taken him to a doggie-psychologist who told them he “...didn’t like his name because he thinks it sounds too ‘stuffy’...”, which she followed with “...if you believe in such things!” I thought that was funny, so his new nickname became “Winner”. From the day I went to meet him, we have been inseparable ever since...our first Christmas we even posed for a card in front of the Christmas tree! I was wearing my Santa-cap, and he was grinning like the happy puppy he is! Sadly, about 5 weeks ago, Winston was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of cancer called Lymphatic Sarcoma. It travels via the lymphatic system and spreads easily, so the survival rate for dogs with this disease is only about 45%- and that is after surgery to remove any tumors and extreme chemotherapy. Even so, typical remission times are around 6 months, and they become much shorter with each successive chemotherapy session. We are lucky to have what I would consider the absolute best veterinary teaching hospital in the US, and possibly the world, right here in Pullman, which also contains an oncology department with the best trained veterinary oncologists and researchers. He started chemo, and aside from a short bout with pancreatitis, lived his last 5 weeks as the happy and well loved puppy he has always been in my eyes. Last Sunday, he became lethargic, and stopped eating anything of substance. We took him in to see if there was anything we could do. It seems the disease had spread to his liver, and there was also evidence of a secondary tumor. At this point, there was no treatment aside from palliative care. We spent the entire day together on Wednesday, doing things he liked, going for rides, cuddling, and I even talked him into eating half a McNugget and a couple french-fries. Usually, when people talk about having a “long day”, it’s somewhat derogatory in nature...in our case, it was a long day...and it was a blessing. We cuddled into bed that night, and woke up the same way. Yesterday, it was obvious he was starting to hurt. He couldn’t maintain the strength in his hindquarters to walk, but he didn’t need to, as I was happy to carry him wherever he wanted to go. He laid in my arms until it was time...I set him on the couch, sat on the floor, and told him he was a fantastic doggie, and soooo loved. In his last few weeks, he didn’t give many kisses. I was honestly worried I would never feel his sandpaper-tongue on my cheek again...but as we both prepared for his journey to the bridge, he lavished me with big, happy, thankful licks...as if to say “Thank-you, Dad...I’ll always love you, just as you have always loved me...” I should have expected it, 'cause as we all know- Winners never quit. My sweet, handsome Winner...tell Heather I love and miss her, and you two play nice! When its time, I'll see you both again, and we will cross the Rainbow bridge as a family...

Winston's Dad, John-Mark