Anything Goes - April 8, 2014

Greetings...

Winston has been with us six weeks and fitting right in,
which really means he has taken over like every other
dog that has lived in our home! He is very loving, very
funny, and very...needy!

He sticks like glue to me, and Flyboy in particular
whenever we leave a room, let alone the house! He lets
out a sound that could only be described as a series of
"squeaks" if Flyboy leaves without taking him with. He
and Moosie go for daily walks with daddy and the only
time Winston doesn't carry on is when Flyboy is in
uniform and getting ready for work. It's strange, but
it's like he knows that daddy has to go to work to pay
for the 40 pound bag of dog food that is now bought once
a week instead of every other week since he got here!

Winston is very smart and also knows when Flyboy is gone,
he gets the BIG bed, can rest his horse-sized head on
mama's chest, get massaged, and whack mom's hand should
she dare to stop the massage!

He and Moosie alternate who gets the top part of the bed
and by "alternate", I mean the one who beats the other
one back there when I head back for the night! They both
get in, but you never know which one will be at the top
when you wake up. Let me tell you, the heat generated by
over 300 pounds of dogs is enough to make you sweat off
a few pounds in your sleep!

The first three weeks Winston was here was hard on him
in one respect. He enjoyed being here enormously, but
when Omar would come, he would get conflicted and you
could see it in him. He was soooo excited to see Omar
and automatically would walk away with him when Omar
started to leave. Omar would tell him to go back to
our door and he would, but looked a little confused.
He knows the sound of his truck so well, I could tell
by his actions that Omar was coming down the street
and the happy, excited greeting was minutes away. As
much as Omar wanted us to take Winston, you could see
the "pride" he had that his dog still loved him and
still considered him his master...

That started to change two weeks ago...

When Omar came over, Winston greeted him happily, but
not so "feverish" so to speak. Flyboy was outside also
and Winston went back and forth between the two of
them, spending more of the time by Flyboy's side. When
he was leaving, Winston didn't automatically follow and
it was only when Omar said, "I have beer" did Winston
start to follow. Yes, you heard me right!

I asked Omar how did he train him so well to listen, walk
without a leash and basically be the dog we never could
have trained? (I admit, the dogs in this house train us).
He told me that after working 12-14 hour days, he would
go home, grab a beer, share one with the dog, and train
him because they were both in a "good mood"...Sheesh

Last week, everything changed when Omar came over. Winston
still let me know Omar was here and when I went out in
the back with him to talk to Omar, he greeted Omar, then
never left my side, sitting right in front of me and then
doing what all Danes do, lean into me when he would stand
up. When Omar was ready to leave and started to walk away,
Winston didn't go with him. Omar tried the "I have beer"
and Winston didn't budge...

Omar walked back to us and I could see the pain in his
eyes. I told him I could see how much he loved this dog
and with a tear in his eye, he said, "Oh yes, and I miss
him so much". I felt bad for him because I remember how
I felt when we had to give Einstein back to his owners
after we had him for months. I asked him if he was sorry
he gave him to us and he said absolutely not, he wanted
us to take him for over a year because he knew how
well-cared for and happy he would be. He said he is just
glad he gets to visit him every week. Something tells me
that wifey is the reason he was an outside dog and the
reason he is living with us. Just a theory based on the
comment, "my wife is a bitch"...Hahahaha

Since all of the landscaping crew know Winston for so
long, he happily greets everyone every week and because
he is bi-lingual, they all have a nice visit. They also
must have been told his name is no longer Scooby so you
can here them talking to him in Spanish, followed by
"Weenstone"!

Winston now goes nutzo when he hears Flyboy's car
down the block!!!

So, there you have it, Winston is healthy, happy, very
loved and the best part?

He's been sober six weeks!!!

:-)

Questions? Comments? Email Jamie: mailto:Jamie@gophercentral.com

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