Winston Rees 13/3/2010 - 2/12/2024

Last year at this time we had a strong feeling we were approaching Winston’s last Christmas. He was coming up to 14 years old (about 100 in Dog Years), and he was getting quite confused, and losing power in his back legs. In January we changed his medication, he had a bad reaction to it and did not get up for days. We thought then that his end was nigh; but he bounced back amazingly when we stopped giving him the new drug. His legs regained their strength and we were once again walking around the neighbourhood.

About 3 or 4 months ago we could see he was really slowing down; and we decided to pencil in a date to be his last day. At times it seemed too hasty (usually when he was sleeping peacefully) or much too optimistic (when all his legs skidded from under him and he hit the deck). As the date arrived we all felt we had got it pretty right. He gave us so much for so long; and he was entitled to a rest.

We found Winston at a farm in the Derwent Valley in 2010. We’d been dog-hunting for a while, ideally for something beagle-sized. His parentage was vague, and the breeders told us oh yeah, he'll be about beagle sized, yep. Very soon he developed the massive feet and big honker of a dog that is destined for largeness. He was a fit 44kg at his peak. We were sold a bill of goods. But we are so happy he found us; he gave us so much love and happiness over an extraordinary lifespan.

A velvety soft bag of nonsense, the day he arrived. Elf considers what we have just done.

Marcus was 8 and Michael was 6 when he came to stay. Of course they were inseparable. We tried to walk the boys to school with Winston. He would not accept that we were leaving them at the school gate and going home without them. It was a disaster. I took him to puppy school, at the Hobart Obedience Club. We left after 10 weeks with no diploma but many new friends.

This is a very doggy neighbourhood, and Winston quickly became close to a pair from over the valley, Cougar and Mochi. Cougar was a retired drug sniffer dog, Mochi a spaniel pup Winston’s age. They were great mates all their lives; Winston is the last to go.

He was wonderfully gentle and… retiring. Which is to say he was scared of cats, getting in the car, the sounds of the saucepan cupboard, and things that moved suddenly in the wind. We had Hattie cat when he arrived, and he always gave her plenty of space. He was not jumpy or snappy; he just quietly moved away from things that alarmed him. He was always great with small kids, and we had visitors say ‘thank you, my kid is scared of dogs and Winston has helped them move past that’. He was just a big soft silly boy.

All his life, his unusual shape and scale prompted strangers to stop and ask “what is he?” Just yesterday on his last walk, some passers by told us he was probably half husky or malamute; but they had not seen his glossy black early years. At the very popular Kingston dog beach a man once declared him “Best On Beach” – quite an honour.

This morning Winston was put to sleep at home, and he went with a peacefulness and gentleness that suited his life. We have 14 years of stories which we’ll keep telling to keep his memory alive.