Elijah Winston

Sweet little Elijah Winston came into my life on a Saturday afternoon in December 2001.  I remember bringing him home - Mom locked me out of the house because she'd said "no more dogs."  Dad saw him and couldn't say no - he practically ran to the door to let us in.

He was the runt of the litter. The shy, quiet one.  At one point we thought he may be deaf as he never reacted to sounds. 

 Then, on a Sunday morning, while watching Ghostbusters 2 in the living room in Rochester, he reacted. It was the part in the movie where they're in the abandoned Subway and Ray is yelling and listening to the echo...Winston Zedemore hollers, and a ghost says, "Wiiiiiinnnnnnnnnstonnnnnnnnn!"  Elijah turned and looked towards the television.  From that moment on, he assumed the middle name Winston.

He was a wonderful puppy, and an amazing dog. That's not to say we didn't have our rough patches - when he was young we thought he had mange.  I put a ton of money into treatments for him.  Eventually, we learned that he had a thyroid condition and medication was the key.  The sweet boy took the pill right out of our palm, no need to hide it in a treat.

He had an obsession with stuffed animals, especially when there was a squeaker inside.  He loved to tear them up to get to the squeaker, and he'd squeak it until it broke. :) Then, one day, I brought Ellie the yellow elephant home from Big Lots.  My goodness, did he love her.  Ellie definitely lasted a good ten years or so.

Elijah and I went through a lot together, a lot of trivial things, but some big.  He was my rock.

When I moved in with Chad in 2010, Elijah stayed with my parents.  We talked about bringing him to Texas with us, but figured he was just too old.  And, he was my Dad's best friend.  Daddy needed him as much, if not more, than I did.

Over the years, Elijah slowed down as most dogs do.  But he never gave up, that's for sure.  He always had a big goofy grin on his face, and would "perk up" whenever I came to visit.  Charleigh absolutely adored him.  She loved to see him on FaceTime and was incredibly excited when we arrived on February 21st.

As usual, he perked up.  We wanted more time with him, as he didn't appear to be suffering.  We pushed it back, hoping and praying that he'd fall asleep and not wake up.  That he'd go peacefully in his sleep.  He just didn't want to let go.

On March 2nd, Mark & Teresa came to the house with the supplies.  I sat on the floor with him the entire time.  He fought the initial sedative, but eventually sat down in my lap, resting his head on me.  My parents came in and told them he was a good dog and that they loved him. When he was calm enough, the second medication was administered.  I held him and told him how much I loved him, and that he was the best dog in the entire world, that it was okay. He stopped breathing, then his heart stopped beating.  I felt him leave me.  It hurt so much, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Amazingly, I remained calm and collected - more so than my father.

It really hit me when he was put into the blue body bag and when he was carried out of the house.  He was gone, and wasn't coming back.  I cried myself to sleep that night, and wished I had brought One-Eyed Willie along - I needed cuddles. 

The house was deathly quiet without his coughing or pacing, and coming home to see he wasn't waiting for us was rough.  The worst, however, was not having that big old goofy grin around.  Not a day goes by that he isn't missed. Thankfully, I have some amazing memories that I'll cherish forever. We were lucky to have had him as long as we did - 15 years was a hell of a life.  He was spoiled rotten all those years, but he deserved it - we were spoiled by his love.

Elijah Winston Gurgens 2001 - 2016