GODFREY – After weeks of tracking, which even included the use of a (rather accurate psychic) Winston the doggo is in the capable hands of Lisa Lewis of Found-A-Hound Rescue.
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The tale of Winston began as many modern tales do – on Facebook. People across Madison County were sharing photos of a poor, little lost dog seemingly wandering aimlessly up and down the dangerous high-traffic area of I-270 near the exit to Highway 157. Lewis said Found-A-Hound volunteers monitored these Facebook posts in several different lost-and-found animal groups utilized by local social media users. Winston would continuously appear, usually around the same area. To make matters worrisome, however, he was seen with a gaping gash on the side of his face.
“After a while of seeing his story, it touches you, and you think you have to get involved,” Lewis said. “Several volunteers got involved, and we even called a psychic on it.”
While Lewis said the psychic was contacted in somewhat jest, the psychic ultimately proved correct. Lewis could not comment whether or not she believed in such supernatural claims, but the psychic, who was a mutual user in a Facebook group used by a Found-A-Hound volunteer, predicted the conditions in which Winston was found.
“She's from out-of-state, and people call her I guess to find missing animals,” Lewis said. “We called her for fun, because what could it hurt? She said she had a vision of Winston hunkering down in a building, which wasn't enclosed. We took it with a grain of salt.”
For five weeks, volunteers from Found-A-Hound used Facebook posts to track Winston across his stomping grounds, eventually finding him. One volunteer followed the pupperino to a barn. The barn had two walls and constantly-opened doors, which is eerily reminiscent of what the psychic told them.
After finding the prophesied stomping grounds of the elusive Winston, traps were set by volunteers, eventually capturing him on Nov. 11.
Now, while safe in the hands of Lewis, Winston is looking to undergo his fourth surgery regarding the gash in the side of his face. Lewis said previous work was done at the Formea Animal Hospital, but said they have reached the end of their abilities in fixing the wound. Currently, it is still not healing and is constantly swollen, oozing and bleeding.
“If it was just a wound, it would have healed,” Lewis said. “We contacted a veterinary specialist to look at it. They want to do a CT scan and another surgery on the 17th. The thought is there must be something in there – like a foreign object – that the X-rays did not find.”
When asked about the origin of that wound, Lewis said a person on whose property Winston wandered told her a gruesome tale. Allegedly, the woman was trying to coax the wayward doggo away from her neighbor, who she said was less than an animal lover. Lewis said the woman recounted that Winston did in fact wander onto her neighbor's yard, and her neighbor allegedly poked him with a metal object when Winston allegedly approached his dog. She also reported to Lewis she heard a “boom.” Lewis was quick to say the story was unable to be verified, however.
Once Winston is treated – something proving to be quite expensive, Lewis said – he will recover and be ready for adoption. Lewis said he is overcoming his aversion to humans, adding he loves children and other dogs, but is nervous about new people in his house. Strangers outside of his house, however, are easier for him. He is also described as a mixed breed mutt around two or three years old.
“When it is time to pursue his forever home, we will require the family to have a privacy fence as per his background of running away,” Lewis said. “If he gets away, he will be gone again. It took us weeks to find and trap him the first time.”
More information can be found at www.FoundAHoundRescue.com or by emailing FoundAHoundRescue@gmail.com. The group also operates a Facebook page under the name Found-A-Hound. It is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and accepts donations through Facebook, PayPal and via regular mail. Their address is P.O. Box 492 in Godfrey 62035.
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