11 year old Kandy was ill and her family couldn’t afford her vet care. Their plan was to have her euthanized without even attempting to help her. They had never spayed her or, it seems, done any meaningful medical care throughout her lifetime, so it now put her in the position of needing a lot of maintenance which would be expensive. Kandy had been a service dog to help them with their anxieties, and this was how she was repaid for her years of giving. Thankfully, their son couldn’t bear to have her die without the opportunity for treatment and reached out to North Atlantic Westie Rescue to see if there was anything they could do. They had a volunteer pick her up at her home in NJ, just outside NYC. She showed all the signs of having been sick for a long time: extremely dehydrated, not eating, her rib and hip bones sticking out and loss of much of her muscle, as well.
She spent her first night in foster and by the morning, she was vomiting and unable to stand, obviously very sick. In an effort to get her to a local vet immediately, NAWR contacted Scottish Terrier Club of Greater New York Rescue nearby, who they have worked with many times in NJ, and Kandy was carried into a specialty vet with an Emergency Clinic that they used frequently. She was examined and admitted for emergency care and observation. After doing a myriad of tests, we were informed that she was a totally unregulated diabetic, seriously dehydrated and was in critical condition. Approving her care and hospitalization, the vet went ahead and got her on IV fluids and antibiotics to try to stabilize her condition. The next hurdle was to try to regulate her diabetes, so she was started on IV insulin once she was better hydrated. She was monitored every 2 hours throughout the night. The second day in the hospital, she stayed on IV and was weaned onto insulin shots. Her blood sugar which had been over 600 upon arrival was steadily coming down in the right direction. As she became fully rehydrated, she started feeling better than she must have felt for a very long time. By late that evening, Scottie Rescue was notified that she could be picked up and her insulin shots, prescription diet, and the remainder of her medications could be maintained at home. She spent a few more days with them and although weak, she was definitely recovering, getting stronger, and showing more of her bouncy Westie personality.
In early January 2023, she was transferred to North Atlantic Westie Rescue (NAWR) in Delaware and is doing very well. She’s running around, beating up lots of toys, barking when her meals aren’t ready fast enough, and just being a happy little Westie girl. She still looks and acts like a puppy, so we feel she still has years ahead of her to enjoy her second chance at life. Kandy’s NAWR foster family renamed her Chloe because they embrace their dogs’ Scottish heritage by giving all of their pups Scottish names. Chloe is an adorable and sweet, spirited, petite Westie with a big personality, and so worth all it took to swipe her out of the hands of death.
Erica Cerny
Scottish Terrier Club of Greater New York Rescue
Update April 2023:
In late April 2023, as soon as Chloe was out of her heat cycle and her Delaware
vet agreed that her diabetes was stable and she was strong enough to have her
spay surgery, her NAWR foster family scheduled the procedures. This sweet little
girl also had a walnut sized anal gland tumor that had to be removed. Her
surgeries were successful! It is one week since her surgery and Chloe is back to
her playful self. She loves to boss her packmates around and tends to run the
household kitchen with excited barks at mealtimes if her meal isn’t prepared fast
enough for her!
We’re very grateful to WestieMed for agreeing with us and paying for this life-saving medical care for Chloe!
With great appreciation,
Vicki Fuchs
North Atlantic Westie Rescue
Update June 15, 2023:
I am the foster mom of Chloe. She has recovered from her surgeries very well. The tumor in her anal gland was malignant so we are just praying the vet got clean margins and that she has beat the cancer!
She is a spunky little girl. She tends to boss the two male Westies that we have in the house, and they don’t mind it one bit! We have noticed over the past few days that her skin issue has returned so I plan to call our vet in the morning to discuss this. In the past we have given her an antibiotic injection, Convivia, along with Ketoconazole orally. It acts like Malassezia so we bathe her with an antifungal shampoo also. Fingers crossed we can get her some itch relief tomorrow. Otherwise she is doing well.
Thanks so much for all your help with this sweet littile girl!
Kind regards,
Vicki Fuchs
Update February 8, 2024: