Winston

Thank you Mirto for sharing your love story with Winston!

Winston came to us with no last name, only a cunning resemblance to Dobby, the house elf from the Harry Potter series. He was taken into our home in October 2010.

With his highly positioned ears, but always kept low and outwardly, his big, round, brown eyes and his white muzzle he pushed himself into my heart through an extremely difficult time.

Winston wasn’t suppose to happen to me, he was a surrender to Muttvile (an amazing rescue that focuses on rescuing senior puppies either strays or abandoned the minute the get older, slower and bit more smelly) at a time that I was still bargaining with the World to give me back my beloved Eddie.
He was surrendered by his owner, for no apparent reason (to me).

You see, Winston arrived into my life at a very challenging time:

It was about two months after I had to say goodbye to my Eddie, my senior puppy whom I adored and I was privileged to have called my own for a year and a half.

It was about a two months of having to overcome the shock of my dad’s sudden death to a stroke upon hearing of my mom’s deteriorating condition.

It was about one month after seeing my mom die on a hospital bed after a two year long and painful road fighting Lupus.

He had a lot of work to do.

There was no misunderstanding that Winston would replace anyone or anything, but I was unsure if I had anything left to give this sweet soul so we called his stay a fostering stay at the beginning, a helping hand to a dog that needed an in-between place to stay at.

But creatures, animals and humans alike, have this uncanny ability to burrow in and instead of filling a specific shaped hole, they just expand you heart further and create this whole new space you didn’t think you had in you.
Winston is twelve years old, loves long, off-leash walks in the park, treats of any kind, and giving us plush toys.

Winston is a dancer, doing a little jig with his front paws whenever he wants food.

Winston gives the softest drive-by licks and snores deep into the night while exposing his hairy belly.

I am very fortunate to have found him and him being persistent enough, not to give up on me and pulling me into his life.

So here he is: Winston, The House Elf, Hamon Salabasi Twist or also affectionately known as Ruru or Ru.

Thank you Muttville.

Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.