06/21/2024
A special tribute to a very special pup.
On Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 9:40 am, Winston Bishop-Patton passed away at 8 years and 10 months old after a hard fought battle with Hemangiosarcoma. He was surrounded by his mom Emily, pop pop Nathan, little sister Ivy, his stuffed animal mammoth, and so much love in the comfort room of Omnivet Veterinary Urgent Care in Traverse City, Michigan. He was the best friend and the best brother and the magnitude of his enormous loss was felt immediately and will be forever.
Born nearly all white in August 2015 in the small town of Centertown, Kentucky, Winston first met his future parents Emily and Nathan at just 5 weeks old who spotted puppies for sale on the side of the road out of an old truck with a pen placed in the tall grass. Under the influence of Puppy Breath, they joined the small adoring crowd of children and passersby.
A pot belly puppy with sleepy eyes and a wiggling tail was plucked from a child’s arms (in favor of potential paying customers) and placed into Nathan’s. His pockets were $100 heavier from birthday money he was given just minutes before. The price tag for this little piglet? $100. Cash.
People often say you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it, but they knew from that moment on how special Winston was and how special what they had was.
Winston’s life with his parents began when they brought him home to a small one bedroom apartment in Evansville, Indiana. They spent every free minute teaching him recall and tricks, walking him to the neighboring lake, carrying him when he got too tired on Angel Mounds State Park’s wooded trails.
On a beautiful fall day off work, his mom took him to eat lunch on the river with his pop pop in Henderson, Kentucky, and it immediately felt like home. Not long after, they all moved together into a loft apartment above an upholstery store (which later became Homer’s Barbecue). Winston became a staple downtown dog always seen walking, picking up trash and even lost money in his mouth, playing at the community dog park, and hiking the dog trail at Audubon State Park.
Next came the home he lived in for the last seven years. You could always find him in his own room on the bed or on the couch. His parents still feel as if some of their greatest accomplishments were choosing him and buying this house and this yard for Winston.
At the same time, Winston’s accomplishments have been plentiful. Winston got people jobs, helped people get disability, appeared on national TV, in newspapers, and in magazines, was once apart of the Otters Baseball team’s on-field entertainment, was the face of many dog brands’ advertising campaigns, created the Winstagram, an online social media community, and has interacted with several celebrities including actress Jennifer Aniston.
Winston also could be credited with coming to the rescue of a friend. One day he would not stop barking at the window for his pop pop to look out and find our neighbor Super Bowl legend Sam Ball had fallen in his yard. Nathan never would have known without Winston and went into quick action to call emergency responders.
Lastly, Winston raised thousands and thousands of dollars for nonprofits including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Indiana and dog rescues and helped hundreds of English Setters receive donations, find volunteers and transporters, and foster and forever homes.
He is survived by his devoted parents, his sister Ivy Jane, his brother Brady Boop, his kitty koo siblings Brody and Britches, his cairn cousins Remy and Izzie, as well as some of his favorite people in his life: both sets of his grandparents, his aunts and cousin, his honorary aunt Katie Ward who always brought him over new toys, bowls, or treats, and his longtime friends Dakota Jones and Tiffany Jones.
If you’re reading this hoping to make the list, well, if he ever went through your legs and stomped, you counted as a favorite to him.
His favorite places included visiting his grandparents’ farms, Land Between the Lakes’ Honker Lake Trail, Gabbi's Pet Boutique, and Henderson Brewing Co.
Since receiving his cancer diagnosis in August 2023, his parents spent every minute they could with him and helped him complete a bucket list that included but is not limited to meeting kangaroos and a camel, having a dog charcuterie board, barking at armadillos, becoming a BARK Ranger, a shopping spree at Gabbi’s, seeing the Christmas lights, getting to see and chase pheasants, ordering and eating off a dog restaurant menu, and seeing the Great Lakes.
Even before that, Winston’s parents lived every day as if it could be his last by taking him to the ocean, hiking in the mountains and Red River Gorge, seeing wild ponies, and so much more. A few of his favorite days were attending a dog Easter egg hunt at Bosse Field, visiting unbelievable dog parks in Ohio for the English Setter rescue picnics, a dog swim day at a Henderson pool, and any day spent hiking off leash in the outdoors.
His family would like to thank Jenn Rlsvdpojspcsa King Strobel as well as the entire online community for their kindness, never ending support, and donations to his care without ever have being asked. Winston gifted his mom so many lifelong friends.
We also like to thank Dr. Dunaway and staff at Kentuckiana Animal Clinic for their consistent support, Dr. Clark and Dr. Rizzo at Veterinary Specialist Partners- VSP in Louisville and Evansville for finding his tumor and for his chemo treatments, Dr. Santos at MedVet Cincinnati for performing a successful splenectomy, and lastly Dr. Van Fleet at Omnivet in Traverse City, Michigan. Without these heroic efforts from these brilliant veterinarians and technicians and all of the donations, his family recognizes they would have lost him much sooner. The time you gave them is the greatest gift you could give to them - they never can repay you.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Winston the English Setter’s name to Canine Cancer Alliance at https://www.ccralliance.org, Our English Setter Rescue - OESR at https://oesr.org, and at A Better English Setter Rescue at https://www.abetteresetter.org.
Winston was loved beyond words by all who knew him or knew of him, and most of all, by his mom and pop pop.
In a world of good boys and good girls, he was the best.
