Lo Mein

About a year and a half ago, I adopted my dog, Winston. He is a spicy little guy. I already had one dog, Cookie, and I wanted her to have a friend, especially when I was gone. She was a puppy at that time, so I wanted another dog around her age so they’d get along alright. I went to a local animal shelter, where I found Winston. His name was Bugs at the time. I soon came to learn why: he liked to eat bugs.

I wasn’t sure which dog I should adopt at first. I originally just wanted to look around, but it was clear as soon as I got there that I wasn’t leaving without another dog. But it wasn’t some magical moment where I immediately knew Winston was the one. There were so many dogs and puppies there; it was hard to decide. I liked Winston because he wasn’t barking and freaking out like the other dogs. He stood at the door wiggling, then put his paws up on it while I petted him through it.

I took him outside to walk around, and he seemed pretty scared. Scared, but excited to be getting attention, too. He sniffed around a lot, but mostly just stayed with me. He was so gentle and sweet. At that point, I already really liked Winston, but there was another dog there I loved, too. I wouldn’t have been able to take both, however, so I had to decide. The other dog was a really small dog, maybe 10 pounds at most. He was also rather sweet and timid. His hair was all matted up, with twigs and other debris stuck in it. He seemed really sad, and I felt so bad for him. But because he was a small dog and so sweet, I knew he would get adopted quickly, while Winston was a bigger mixed breed dog that people tend to look over.

I was glad I chose Winston for many reasons, but especially because the other dog was adopted to a new home a few days later. I felt like I made the right decision. As soon as I got Winston home, my dog, Cookie, and my boyfriend’s dogs overwhelmed him at first. He peed on the floor. But we gave him some time to relax without the other dogs, then introduced him to them again. He was still scared, but less so.

It quickly became clear that someone had abused Winston. I could be messing around and hitting the other dogs with a paper towel roll or something similar, and Winston would get scared and hide in the corner. I had to really watch myself at first, because even though I was just playing, Winston didn’t know that. Specific things really scared him, like if you swung at something, hit something, made a loud noise. Back to the corner he would go. Belts scared him, too, along with many other things.

It didn’t take long for Winston to warm up though. Soon he was picking on the other dogs left and right. He is really fast, so he would be playing with the other dogs and sprinting and jumping into the air like Spiderman. Jumping completely over Cookie, who is a large Great Pyrenees. They became best friends quickly. Cookie was ecstatic to have a puppy her age to play with, and Winston was just happy to be here.

For some reason, Winston never really grew or changed any. He still looks exactly the same as he did when I adopted him over a year and a half ago. So, I’m not entirely sure how old he actually is, but I assume he is around 2 years old like Cookie. I think he’s going to look like a puppy forever, though, which is fine with me. He’s adorable.

Now Winston has so much confidence. He does still get scared by things, but not nearly as much. When he wants to play, he’ll just snatch up whatever toy is closest to him and shove it in another dog’s face. They are usually forced to play with him because he’s shoving toys in their face and biting them and growling at them. He is a feisty little guy. He loves to cuddle with you on the couch, but he also often gets into moods where he’ll roll around onto his back and start kicking everything. He makes this little playful growling noise where he sounds like a crocodile. He does it anytime he’s playing with someone, dog or person. He’ll be upside down on the couch next to you, kicking everything, making his crocodile noise, and biting at anything and everything. You, the couch, someone who walks by, anything that comes near.

At the dog park, Winston is a mad man. He sprints around so fast you can barely even keep up with him. He has no rhyme or reason; he just runs around crazily. He likes to be faster than other dogs, so when they’re playing, he’ll jump over them and sprint away. He does this over and over again to Cookie. She’ll run up to him trying to play, and he’ll just jump over and sprint away while she tries to chase him down. Winston also thinks he’s the Sheriff of our house. When the other dogs start playing or being silly, he’ll jump in and start barking at them. Barking, making his crocodile noises, and biting at them. It’s hilarious.

Winston has many nicknames as well: little man, pimpin’, shrimpin’, and so on from there. I call him “little man” so much that it has started to sound like “lo mein,” so that has become another nickname for him. He likes none of them; I’m always baby talking to him while he just glares at me from the couch, unamused. He’s a little grump. All the ladies do love Winston though, hence his nickname “pimpin’.” Cookie loves Winston, my boyfriend’s three female dogs love Winston, any female dog he meets loves him. It’s absurd.

Winston does have his flaws, too. Anytime he sees another dog he doesn’t know, he screams at them. Like, literally screams. It’s this high-pitched gibberish sounding noise he makes at them, which then freaks the other dog out. He isn’t aggressive toward them despite this; he just is really anxious to meet them. Once they actually meet, he is nice and they become friends. I think he didn’t meet any other dogs when he was a puppy before I adopted him, so now he freaks out when he sees one that’s not ours. He is slowly getting better though; it just takes time and patience.

Despite his flaws, Winston is the best dog I could have asked for. He’s adorable, smart, feisty, a little crazy. But I have never regretted adopting him, and I never will. He and Cookie will always be my dogs; they are my best friends. They are a silly pair, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.