Loc Aire's Sir Winston - by mum

I received another devastating message today.... Sunshade's twinnie litter brother Winston passed away yesterday.


I call Winston, Sunshade's twinnie because they were the two sheepcoated pups in the litter, and they looked identical throughout their lives. My heart always skips a beat whenever I see a picture of him.


Winston and Sunshade were picked up on the same day. They were the first ones to leave the litter, so they got clipped. Here is a picture of the pups with our breeder Jan, taken the day we went to pick them up. The two pups nearest to Jan are Sunshade and Winston. You can sort of see the two clipped heads.


Sunshade (labelled as ME) and Winston had their last play together before they left for their respective homes,


Winston's parents, M & T were first time dog owners just like I was. He was their first "child", and they loved him very much. This picture was taken when Winston was 7 months old,


Winston at two years old with his Airedale buddies,



Like Sunshade, Winston was an excellent swimmer and retriever,



Winston was M & T's only child for the first 7 years, and then the family welcomed a little girl and a little boy,


He welcomed the kids into the family with open paws, and became the best big brother they could have ever wanted,




M is a fireman, and he works graveyard shifts quite a bit. So on most days when he comes home from work, everyone has either gone to work or school. It was always just him and Winston's time together in the morning. M told me this was the hardest thing he has ever had to go through in his life up until this point. I believe him, and I can almost feel his pain. He loved Winston beyond comprehension.

Winston was the perfect personality for us, I can't believe how well he did with our kids, and how much of "our" dog he was. He had the perfect personality. Yes he didn't listen, but that was more our fault as first time dog owners. We miss him so much already. ~~ M

I wish I could have made the time to drive Sunshade down for a get together with her brother. We were only a border, and 3 hours away. M and I had been talking about it since Sunshade's cancer diagnosis over a year ago (when we reconnected through Facebook), but the timing just never worked out. I know I would have loved that boy very much.

Run like the wind Sir Winston...... Until we meet again beautiful boy......



Our hearts are with you M & T and the kids...

Love,
Elaine, Sunshade + piggies, Jaffa & D-Guy