Winner

Happy Thanksgiving Winner!!!

2008-01-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

Winner + Love = Life!!

2006-07-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

Winner,.. the boy who waited so long,....
Now knows Love and Life to it's fullest!

Winner Knew,....

2006-06-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

We are convinced that Winner knew he was going home,...
He is such a dear boy, facing the unknown with a new found bravery, that he had all along,...
I will never get over how every foster dog's personality, blossoms at such a different pace, and strength,...
They all touch my heart so deeply,... and a piece of my heart goes with each and everyone of them, as they move on to their furever homes,...

Fostering these English Setters has got to be the most rewarding and most gratifying experience in the world, next to having children,....

As Winner Settles In,...

2006-06-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

We see gradual improvements each day as " Win " accepts more and more of the home sharing concept.

Hopefully he'll reach a point where he's a comfortable part of all activities in the house and also outdoors.

As you have seen, he really wants to be with his people, but then some noise scares him and he's off to a hiding place for a while.
His bed and blanket are in the living room.
One good sign - when we decide to veg out in front of the TV he stays right with us and enjoys coming over to be petted once and a while.
We try to involve him in all activities, but don't force the issue if a noise frightens him. Hope you're doing well - John

Live the Good Life Winner Boy,....

2006-06-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

As Win drives away with his new Mom and Dad, I can only reflect back on the scared English Setter that came to me back in February.
For 2 weeks he would only come out of his crate to eat, and to go outside. Slowly, but surely his courage grew,.....
saying good bye ,..is always bitter sweet,....
knowing that Win is going to the best home possible, is the saving grace to this whole process,...
I'll always love you Winner Boy,... a place in my heart will always be yours,....hugs, kisses, and a few tears as you drive away,.....
Knowing that happiness will be with you always, makes everything , ok!
Be a good Boy, Win!
Love, Susan

Winner Meets his new Mom and Dad!

2006-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Win, has finally made it home, after 7 years of being kept in a pen, away from human contact,....
Endured a trip from Alabama to Iowa, into the fridged temperatures of February,...
and now ridden 1000 miles, finally to meet his Furever Mom and Dad.

Winner has Fun in PA.!

2006-06-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here we Are,.. Almost There!!

2006-06-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Winner Finally takes a Nap!

2006-06-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Winner has been awake the entire trip!!

Sun Sets on Day One of Our 1000 Mile Journey

2006-06-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Winner takes it easy after our long day on the road!

The Sun sets, as we head into our overnight in Columbus,OH.

Winnner is a Good Passenger!

2006-06-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

As the Miles Roll By,...

2006-06-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

One Last Look At the Midwest,....

2006-06-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

One last look over the Mississippi River as we enter Illinois,.....

A Long Way to Go,....

2006-06-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Winner, wondering what lies ahead,...

Early Morning Departure Time,....

2006-06-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

This is a tradition at our house, a photo under the big maple tree in our yard,...we are leaving Iowa, headed for PA., for the Annual Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue Picnic, and to meet Winner's new Mom and Dad

Winner WON!!

2006-05-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Winner, now has a home of his own,....
a case where timing is everything,....I will have a more indepth update soon,..
I want to share this one thing,
Tonight I was talking to Win, and I asked him what it felt like to know that he now had a home of his own?...he very distinctively, nuzzled my temple and handed over my first setter kiss from Win,.. ever....
I couldn't belive it,.. I looked at him and his eyes were smiling like never before,.....

A Smile on Winner's Face!

2006-04-13T00:44:00.000-07:00

WOW, Thanks, Mom,.. this Beats the dog park any day!

One More Look, Before We Leave!

2006-04-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

Last one, I Promise!

Bird Dog?, yep, That's me!

2006-04-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

Notice the Tail Twitch!

Did You Hear That, Angel?

2006-04-13T00:32:00.000-07:00

I had Better have a Look!

I think Winner has Found His Element!

2006-04-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

Water,.. I love it!!

Wonder if Winner likes the Water?

2006-04-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

Birds?,..did I hear Birds?

Off we go to the River,..

2006-04-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

Winner Continues to Adjust to Love

2006-04-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

Winner continues on his path to Love,.. he is the sweetest boy, he is overwhelmed at times, discovering all the things he had missed over the last seven years.
His discovery of "Play" has to be the most rewarding to us as a foster home,...seeing him forget all his past fears, even for a moment or two, is worth every second.
Seeing his smiling face as he is the first one to greet you at the door when you come home,..awesome,..

Chillin with Winner

2006-04-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

Taking a Break at the Dog park

A Romp in the Park

2006-02-26T05:21:00.000-08:00

Angel and Winner enjoy a romp in the park,...
each day brings out the great spirit that lives in every English Setter.

Last night I fell asleep on the couch, Winner was in his usual spot behind the chair(next to his crate!).
I got up for a second and when I came back ,...guess who had hopped up on the couch,..in my spot?!
When he saw me, he wagged his tail,and sort of bowed his head, as if to make sure it was okay, that he had gotten up on the couch,..
all I could do was laugh, and tell him,"It's about time Winner!"

One Week has Passed

2006-02-26T05:11:00.000-08:00

One week has passed since Winner came to our home, and slowly but surely, his spirit is starting to emerge....if you look closely, you might see a setter smile!!

I see something,...

Keep Looking!

I think,.. i found it!!

Maybe not,...

The Serious One

2006-02-26T05:06:00.000-08:00

Winner, the serious one ALWAYS checks to make sure you are there!

Then checks in for some soft pats!

Winner's Story If he were a plant, the sun would be his future owner.

2006-02-25T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Susan

Talked with Winston's previous owner and got a little bit of her story about him. When he was only six months old, they noticed sensitivity to anyone that he sensed might strike him. She felt the reason this occurred was that he was kept in proximity with the other littermates and perhaps when they were eating together any sign of growling might have been punished with hitting. When she and her husband first got Winston, he was put in a pen with two other dogs. One was an unneutered male Setter called Rowdy who was older but not aggressive, and the other was a female who was Winston's grandmother. When the three were first put together, Winston would growl at Rowdy, but not his grandmother, so they separated Winston from the other two by some fencing. Winston, however, would continue to growl at Rowdy through the fence. When I asked Doris, the owner, what her explanation for the growling was, she said she thought Winston was jealous of Rowdy (it, of course, could have been male territorial behavior).
I took a chance and asked her if she was overly expressive and loving to Rowdy as opposed to Winston. She laughed and said yes because Rowdy was older and had health problems. My feeling is that Rowdy was easier to deal with than Winston.
The puzzling aspect of this matter is that Winston was perfectly at ease with the neighbor's dogs. In fact, they played tag with Winston chasing the dogs over the fields and all of them turning around and chasing Winston back. And this would go back and forth, seemingly with a lot of fun.

This is a couple who hunted on horseback with setters, but the husband became ill and trained Winston only briefly before he died. Her husband was adamant that none of the dogs jump up on people, and may have applied not-so-gentle correction. On one occasion Doris said Winston jumped on her for attention and she scolded him because of her husband's insistence. Winston responded by growling. This happened only once.

I asked Doris where she would place Winston if she were to do it herself. She said she thought he needs, as John & I think, to be with people who are older and have grown children long gone, or people with no children. She also said that Winston needs to be in a situation without any competition from other animals.

Now, this is our experience with Winston. John and I were taking Alfie, another rescue dog, back to the vet after his walk on the trail, and we spotted a station wagon open at the back with this lovely Setter handled by a guy standing there holding a rope around his neck. He looked very vulnerable. John walked over and cradled his face in his hands and started talking gently to him. He looked up and gazed into John's eyes, seemingly starved for attention. He loved it! At this point I walked over and started talking with the man, who was a little on the gruff side, to say the least. We found out later he was a handyman on Doris' farm. I asked him whether he brought Winston for his annual shots, and he replied that no, he was going to be killed. You can imagine our reaction!! Incredulous, I asked why. He said the owner (Doris) was moving from the farm to an apartment in the city because everything was too much work for her after her husband died. He added that he had already dug Winston's grave. When I probed further and asked why he had to be destroyed because of that, he said she was afraid to give him to anyone else with any possibility that he would not be taken care of or would be abused. Now you can imagine, at this point, that John and I were pretty horrified at that solution, so I asked him to get the woman on my cell phone. He did, and when I assured her that I would try to find a home for him if she released him to me, she agreed to meet with John and me at her farm to talk about it. So Winston had a stay of execution. To be sure nothing would happen to him in the meantime, I kenneled him that night at my vet's. The next day we went to the farm and had a nice conversation with Doris. She was terribly relieved that someone would want to place him, and once again repeated that she would have kept him if there were no restrictions with regard to animals where she was going. It was obvious to both of us that she was having health problems of her own, as her one side was paralyzed by a stroke. Finally, reassured that Winston would be in good hands, she signed the release form.

From that day on, our experience with Winston has been nothing but positive. Every day we walked him on a long trail with many different kinds of people and animals and he seemed very happy and content with us. We excessively praised him for everything, including peeing and pooping! He soaked up all our affection with so much obvious appreciation. Other people on the trail petted him and he loved that, too. The only time we saw any discomfort on his part was when a dog approaching him showed any aggression, growled, or tried to jump on him (like Alfie). He would growl back. In a way, he seemed to love having us to himself. One of the most interesting things he did every time we took him out was to frequently stop, turn around, and come to us and present his head/face to be caressed. As an aside, when we first put a harness on him he showed absolutely no resistance and walked on the leash as if he were born to it. Interestingly enough, Doris said they could never put anything on him because he didn't like it, and she was astonished that he accepted the harness and leash and walked like a perfect gentlemen. She laughingly asked, "Are we talking about the same dog?" I laughingly responded, “You bet. Do you want to see the photos?” She said, “Absolutely!” So I am sending some to her. In summation, she was greatly relieved about all this news.

To reiterate, John and I both think that Winston should be with older, mature dog lovers, who really know this breed and are consistently loving and gentle.

You recall, Susan, that I sent the story about the show dog by Elissa Ely on National Public Radio. I commented that it had some relevance to Winston. You remember that Elissa said that when she and her husband got this dog, it exhibited the behavior of a perfect lady, but without demonstration of emotional attachment. I really empathized with Elissa when she said she praised the dog for everything. The reward for that was that the dog responded eventually with great love for her and her husband. This is what I feel will happen when Winston gets a loving home. In our relatively short time with him he seemed to be released from his emotional jail. Probably the trip, with all the complexity and changes, could have set him back a little bit. We gave great faith that this is temporary, depending on his future owner.

He is a wonderful dog with a fine pedigree, but what he has to offer is a lot more than that. He has great heart, and a loving spirit which needs to be nourished.
If he were a plant, the sun would be his future owner.

Myrle and John

A Little Chilly......

2006-02-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

The cold doesn't seem to bother him much,.....but he sure doesn't stay outside too long!!

Winner On The Road

2006-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

3 days on the road Winner lands in Iowa to sub zero temperatures!

2006-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Winner's guardian Angels...

Winner

2006-02-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Meet Winner,..
Thanks to the quick thinking of a fellow rescuer, Winner's life was spared,...the full story to follow...