Winter is having the time of his life--and why shouldn't he? He is loved by THREE wonderful children. Before he met these three and joined their family, he had been through some pretty bad times. Winter's first owners were moving--and, as is the case for too many other dogs, this meant he was no longer wanted. He, along with the two other dogs he lived with, was dumped in an over-crowded New York shelter. Heart Bandits took two of the dogs . (Read the adoption story of Toni, Winter's sister.) The other was rescued by a Keeshond group. Seriously neglected by that first owner, Winter's coat was so badly matted that he could barely move without pain. Shaving his coat was a necessity. As soon as the mats were gone, he sprang to life--a playful, friendly, outgoing three-year old. Even though the haircut was spectacularly bad, the Litts family was able to see that Winter was a treasure. Now he is a very happy boy.
This is how Holly,11, and Robbie, 9, described their first day with Winter--
Dear Sarah,
Do you have a dog??? I just got a dog on Saturday. We went to a kennel in Uniondale, Long Island. We have been keeping in touch with the lady in our area. Her name is Audra. Audra told us that we could go see the dog that we really liked. His name was Winter.She said that she would meet us at the kennel on Saurday. We played with Winter and we really liked him so we could take him home. Then we went to PETCO and we bought him a crate and some more dog food and a dish and a toy. He came with his stuffed animal and a blanket and a few toys. Then we took him tome.
If you want to see what he looks like, then go to hbeskies.com and you will see what Winter will look like when his fur grows in. He had to be shaved because he was to knotted cause his old owners didn't take care of him and he couldn't walk, so they had to shave him. Now he has a little bit of fur and he is really cute. Well I better go now.
Bye :)
HOLLY
I wanted a Jack Russell Terrier but I read about them and they didn't match my family. I took a dog test and an American Eskimo miniature came up. I went to keyword American Eskimo miniature and found Heart Bandits. I went to it and looked at all the places on it. I found Audra's number and my dad called her. We emailed back and forth. She told us Winter was good for us. When we went to see him he looked like a lamb. He was very fun when we first played with him and I thought he would be the perfect dog. He got right in the car and was very good in PETCO. He likes to play in the water and bite the water that comes out of the hose. I don' t know why somebody would treat him so badly. I love having a dog. It is so fun having a dog. Thank you very much Heart Bandits.
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Another update from the Litts family--
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We've had Winter now for almost three months. He is such a good boy that I can't imagine anyone ever not wanting him. He seems to love living with us! He loves exploring in the "woods" and watching the squirrels. He took over a corner of the deck as his spot. He has things buried in secret places and comes to the door with a nose full of dirt. Which he then washes like a cat. He gets his leash and loves taking walks around the neighborhood. (More squirrels!!) One thing he doesn't like is strangers who bend down to say hi to him. Then he growls. He is a real cutie though--pretty hard to resist. When he comes to the bus stop all the kids look out the window and say how cute he is. |
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In the house, he blended in with the whole family really nicely. Except for Tiger, our 13 year old cat. She is the queen and does not want to share the throne. We do a lot of pet coordinating but things are working. Cat sleeps during the day, dog sleeps at night. Winter has 3 favorite toys which he wakes up every morning. They sleep in the crate with him. He has several places to sleep besides the crate, usually right behind me or across a doorway. He loves to sit on the couch or bed with the kids. Don't tell Dad! I can't believe this is the same dog who came to us with all his skin showing. He is getting fluffier every day and has learned to love being brushed. He hated it at first but maybe it hurt. I started with a soft brush. Now he stands still and lets me brush every inch. I will send more pictures as Winter gets more fur. So until then, Happy Halloween!
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to see Winters hair grow, roll your curser over the image!
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update June 2001
It is now the summertime and Winter is doing great. He is like a humongous ball of puff... oops I mean fur. Sometimes when he lays down, you cant tell which end is his head and which end is...well you get the idea. He plays outside alot and we have a little sandbox that we fill with water and he splashes around in that after he gets all dirty from playing in the dirt (typical little boy) :). We have a smallish pool that we fill up with water for me and my 2 brothers and Winter goes and drinks from it! Usually when his water isn't outside (because 1 of my brothers forgot to put it out!) he drinks from it! Its really funny. He can't understand why my brothers and I are home at such odd times. We have this clock up that plays a different song every hour and he was so used to hearing one song when it was time to go to the bathroom outside and when it was time to get my brothers and I off of the bus and now he hears the song that means "time to get the kids off the bus" and he gets all confused and then wants to go outside and then when he goes outside, he looks through the fence to see it the school bus is coming. Its funny. Another time that was funny was when he went in the two foot pool and he stepped into it and he didnt move because it touched his stomach! We call Winter "King" now because he gets his "own room" (the dining room) and he has 9 combs and brushes and he has about 5 towels and blankets! Me or my mom or someone in our family will keep you up to date!
Xo Holly Xo
visit Winter's page on the web!!
http://hometown.aol.com/ttmommocat/myhomepage/dog.html
