Poor Winston

A boy and his dog.

But let's start at the beginning. When Harrison was born, Winston was not terribly enamored with the infant that ripped away Winston's status as our only "child" and made him the family dog that barely got any attention. Dad took him to the dog park that week and Winston twisted his leg in some mud chasing a ball and tore his ACL which required surgery. There were some complications with the stitches that made the recovery uncomfortable and prolonged. I have always worried Winston might somehow connect that injury with Harrison.

But at least mom was at home for the next 4 months and Winston had some company. Then mom went back to work and when the family returned home in the evening, no one had time or energy to play with Winston. Poor Winston.

Fast forward two years and mom quits her job and is home with Harrison every day and Winston finally has company and gets a bit more time taking walks or at the very least gets some good petting. Better yet, in the last month or so, Harrison has taking an intense liking to Winston. One day Winston was lying under the table when Harrison crawled under snuggled up to him and said "I LOVE You Winsty!" and continued to pet and snuggle with him until Winston got up and walked away to Harrison's dismay. Since then this has happened almost daily. It seemed like Winston was finally in a better place since that fateful day we brought a baby home from the hospital.

While I was in Las Vegas in early October for Grand Hart's 80th birthday party, dad took the boys to the park and threw the ball for Winston. After they got home, Winston suddenly started pulling up his hind leg. Uh oh. Our vet confirmed he tore his other ACL. Poor Winston.

 Just in time for Halloween, Winston has a Franken-pup type scar on his leg. The last surgery stitches caused some complications but thus far he hasn't suffered any, thank goodness. Since he needs to stay quiet for a few weeks, we moved his kennel to the living room so he isn't climbing the stairs. Harrison doesn't see why Winsty can't continue to play, so the other day he put a "blanket" over Winston and gave him a "lovey" so he can go night-night (actually a kitchen towel and Harrison's plush bulldog). Winston gets his stitches out Wednesday so let's hope for continued recovery!