While he might be Emerson’s newest EmCeleb, Winston the Corgi has quickly captured the hearts of everyone on Emerson’s campus. It is almost impossible to walk past him on the street without stopping to pet him and say hello to his human, Tim Ayers, before you make your way to class. Who knew such a tiny puppy could bring so much joy to campus?
Name: Sir Winston Churchill
Age: 5 months
Hometown: Boston, MA
Breed: Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Sign: Taurus
Instagram: @SirWinstonCorgi
When did you first get Winston? We first got him July 4th weekend. He was born May 7th!
Why did you start walking Winston around Emerson? My girlfriend and I both own our own businesses, so we can bring him to work with us. I started bringing him right in July when there were no students here. He got some attention but for the most part we just walked around. Then the Orientation Leaders came back in early August and they were obsessed with him; that was when he first started getting crowds on the street. Then I started hearing people say “Oh, there’s a drawing of him on the whiteboard in the library!” Then we saw a picture of him pop up on the Emerson Facebook page. Some people came up to me and said, “They show his Instagram at the OL meetings!”
Why did you make Winston an Instagram? We started his Instagram as a joke, so we weren’t putting all his pictures on our Instagram. He started getting followers so we keep posting pictures of him. Everyone enjoys it!
Did you expect Winston to be this popular? No, my girlfriend fell in love with corgis from following them on Instagram. I guess they’re very photogenic dogs. He seemed especially cute when we got him from the breeder. But, no, I didn’t think that he’d be so recognizable. Now, wherever we’re walking him, we have people come up to us like, “Is that Winston?” Whether my girlfriend is on Charles Street or Newbury Street or near our apartment in Kenmore, people recognize him. In Kenmore, the people at the Commonwealth know who he is now. It’s unbelievable. My girlfriend got into an Uber with him the other day and the driver was like, “What’s your dog’s name?” She said Winston, and even he knew exactly who Winston is.
Does Winston like the attention? Yeah, we think he’s a little spoiled. Now, he knows which doors Emerson students come out of and he will plant himself in front of them as we’re walking. When he sees groups of people coming towards him he’ll just sit if we’re walking and just wait for them to come to him and pet him. If he’s really feeling it, he’ll roll onto his back and put his legs into the air so people will rub his belly.
What’s your favorite memory of Winston so far? We took him to the beach, he’s been on a ton of road trips, he had a blast at the Cape. He also ate a lot of sand there, we discovered. He had to spend a night in the pet hospital to have it pass through. He loves getting out of the city and being off leash, too. We still don’t trust that he’s not going to take off at the Off-Leash section of the Common, so he only goes off leash at my parent’s house or at the beach.
How do you feel owning an ‘EmCeleb’? I think it’s really funny. It’s great where our office [Model Club, Inc.] is, right in the middle of campus. We are a model and talent agency so we have several Emerson students represented by us to do acting and modeling. It’s a great connection to the campus!
What are three words to describe Winston? We call him the little monster! But he’s sweet, loving, and a terror.
Any random/special facts? He likes to eat anything and everything he can on his walks outside. He likes to bite people’s ears. He has a sharp raincoat! He has more toys at home than we know what to do with.
We finished the interview with Winston and Tim running around the office and playing, in order to get some action shots!