Panthers’ fans – meet Winston.
This photo is a far cry from the state he was found in a couple of weeks ago. A couple of our staff had just finished an early morning gym session and spotted him roaming around the carpark at Sportingbet Stadium. They went after him to see if he was OK but he took off, and so began an hour long mission to catch him!
After half a dozen stand offs on family hill, and a few desperate sprints from one end of the stadium to the other, the staff finally wore him out and he sat down to have a rest. He was very scared, his hair was matted and dirty and he hadn’t eaten for quite some time, but not once did he show any aggression. Eventually he let them approach him and pat him, and after some gentle coaxing, they scooped him up in a towel and took him to the local animal hospital.
He wasn’t micro-chipped and he didn’t have a collar, but he had definitely been a pet at one time. The vet nurse took him away and gave him a bath and shaved his hair, and called the local animal shelter that would look after him until he was ready for adoption. He was such a sweet little boy, and we all wanted to make sure he found a home, so one of us put our names down to take him if his owners didn’t come forward.
A week went by and nobody came to claim him. In that time, one of the other staff members here at the stadium had seen the photos of him and had heard his story, and she decided she wanted to adopt him.
After some final vet checks over the weekend, he was able to go home! A few of us bundled into the car and went to pick him up. He was still very timid, but he remembered who we were and slowly came up for a pat. He sat quietly on the back seat the whole way back to the stadium, and didn’t even protest when we put a collar and a lead on him!
He was a little overwhelmed when we took him into the office to meet some people, but within half an hour he was walking up to staff for a pat, and had soon fallen asleep under a desk.
His new mum then took him home to meet the rest of her family, and I am happy to report he is getting along well with their other dog, and they slept side by side at the end of their mum and dad’s bed last night!
Di Langmack – you are an angel for saving this little guy. He is going to have the most magnificent life with you, and we can’t wait for you to bring him back into the office for a visit!
Renee Selby-Jones – your love for animals never ceases to amaze. You would have done two dozen laps of the stadium, making sure Winston didn’t run out on the road.
And thank you to all of our grounds staff who joined in the chase at one point or another!
