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Bunnygetter's Code Blue CGC, TDI

Winnie has been the class clown since Day 1. When he was born, I thought he was a solid blue, but within a few weeks, some faint tan stripes became evident. He was such a vigorous eater as a pup that he used to drink milk until he overflowed (literally – throwing up milk that did not fit in his stomach). His incredible appetite continued into adulthood when he became known at the Great Counter Surfer (for stealing food off of kitchen counters) and stealing treats from other people’s training bags at obedience competitions. The antithesis of his well mannered brother Turlough, Winston’s more memorable childhood events include throwing up on Papa Bruce while he was sound asleep in bed. Then, when we were making one of our marathon road trips from Illinois to Tulsa, Winston drank Patty’s coke and did a “desperation” pee in Papa Bruce’s lap as he was driving. But, he was Patty’s pick from the litter and despite his multitude of breed faults, he has had a home for life at Bunnygetters. He would have been one heck of a lure coursing dog except for one minor problem – he had a bad habit of chasing other dogs off the lure, most notably his mother Abby. Too many times, I heard the ill fated words from the booming voice of the hunt master “RETRIEVE YOUR HOUND”. So, I never could get him qualified and he spent his coursing career running in the single stakes. But, oh what fun he was to work in obedience. With a food drive that wouldn’t quit and a ham of a personality, there was no end to the fun we had at obedience matches and the many training sessions with Frank Foster. Winston survived a terrible cervical spinal cord injury at age 7 thanks to a life saving surgery performed by neurologist Dr. Allen Sisson. Then, at age 12 he survived immune mediated hemolytic anemia. Life with Winnie proved never to be for the faint of heart, but we would not trade a moment of this wild ride with our boy.