Tilly

by westiemed in Stories

Tilly is a small Westie mix that was found at the East Valley Animal Shelter with an upper respiratory infection.  She was incredibly scared of everything around her and was always looking for an exit.   She was lethargic, wouldn’t eat and moaned quite a lot.   We thought she may possibly be in heat cycle because of the discharge and enlarged nipples. We tried everything type of food trying to entice her appetite but she refused and just wanted to sleep.  We knew something wasn’t right, aside from the URI so we scheduled her spay appointment 14 days out from the start of antibiotics. 

Tilly had her surgery and it was discovered that her uterus was thickened and she had early pyometra which is an infection of the uterus.  Infection in the lining of the uterus is established as a result of hormonal changes. Following estrus (“heat”), progesterone levels remain elevated for 8-10 weeks and thicken the lining of the uterus in preparation for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur for several estrus cycles, the lining continues to increase in thickness until cysts form within it. The thickened, cystic lining secretes fluids that create an ideal environment in which bacteria can grow. Additionally, high progesterone levels inhibit the ability of the muscles in the wall of the uterus to contract. 

Now that she has recovered, a completely new dog has emerged.  Tilly’s energy came back and she very much acts like the puppy that she is.  She loves to play with the other dogs, and her people too, and has taken a new interest in toys.   Now, she is the first one done eating and will steal food from the other dogs if given the chance.   

This once little shy and scared girl is no more. 

Thank you WestieMed for sponsoring this little girl.  Because of you, she has a bright future coming!

Karen Simondet

Westie Rescue of Orange County (WROC)

Elsa

by westiemed in Stories

Elsa was born in May 2022. She was purchased by a “breeder” from another “breeder”
for the sole purpose of producing puppies. In February 2023 she was taken for a routine
exam so she could be declared fit so that her owner could start breeding her. During the
exam, the veterinarian diagnosed a heart murmur. Her owner now considered her useless
and did not want to bother following up with a specialist. However, her owner did reach
out to a group in Kansas that helps dogs get to rescue to surrender her. This group
(Friends of Animals) reached out to us having worked with All About Paws in the past
knowing we will always help special needs dogs. We of course said yes, bring her to us.
We will absolutely help.

Elsa was transported to our rescue in St. Louis Missouri in early March. Not knowing the
exact extent of her heart issues, we immediately scheduled an appointment with a
cardiologist. During that appointment, Elsa was diagnosed with PDA (Patent Ductus
Arteriosus). This is a common congenital heart defect in dogs and basically means the
blood is not flowing how it should through the heart. For most dogs if this is not fixed it
can lead to cardiac heart failure- basically a death sentence. Elsa’s cardiologist felt
surgery needed to be performed soon so this can be avoided. She is currently on
Vetmedin until her scheduled surgery on April 10, 2023. Elsa has been an absolute
delight in her foster home and we believe she deserves the chance to live a full, happy,
and healthy life in a loving home.

After her surgery, Elsa will have several weeks of recovery and follow up before she can
be medically cleared and then we will need to finish our responsibility to her as a rescue
and have her spayed. Only then will we be able to start the search for her fur-ever home.
All About Paws is incredibly thankful to WestieMed for helping us help Elsa live her life
to the fullest.

All About Paws Rescue

St. Louis, Missouri

Molly

by westiemed in Stories
Molly

Molly is an 8 year old diabetic Westie. She came to Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston when her person made the decision to surrender Molly due to her recent diabetes diagnosis.

Before coming to Rescue, Molly lived in an apartment with her person. This worked well because she is OK as an only dog. Morning and evening walks were fine with her. When her person began working from home, Molly got more walks during the day.

Then her person noticed Molly was having incontinence issues during the day and was unable to keep her bedding dry. Molly was diagnosed as diabetic and prescribed daily insulin injections and this is when her life changed. Her person had to return to the office and found Molly’s medication schedule was hard to follow with her work schedule. Molly began going to different in-home doggy daycare that were given instructions on how to administer insulin. She continued to be incontinent as insulin was not being given on schedule, if at all.

Since Molly arrived at Rescue, she has had two glucose curves and her insulin dosage has been increased. She is on a consistent daily food and medication schedule which has shown great results. She is no longer wetting her bed and has more energy for her daily walks. She alerts her foster mom when needs to go out and uses a dog door.

She does have some loss of vision and is seeing a specialist to determine what treatment is appropriate. Molly likes people but does not seem to care about other dogs in her environment. She is a good companion dog.

Cathy Norris, Molly’s Foster Mom, Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston

Kandy

by westiemed in Stories

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. She was transferred to Westie Rescue 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 is an adorable and sweet, spirited, petite Westie with a big persona, and so worth all it took to swipe her out of the hands of death.

We’re very grateful to WestieMed for agreeing with us and paying for this life saving medical care for Kandy!

With much appreciation,

Erica Cerny

Scottish Terrier Club of Greater New York Rescue

Tolley

by westiemed in Stories

Tolley the senior westie – His story didn’t start so well. He was found by a Good Samaritan that discovered him tied with a rope around his neck in a vacant lot, out in the cold with no protection. She cut the rope and immediately took him to the shelter. Because he was a stray he was kept at the shelter for two weeks. Unfortunately, while there he developed an upper respiratory infection. He was put on antibiotics by the shelter veterinarian. During his stay at the shelter the employees commented on what a sweet boy he was while there. We know how stressful and scary a shelter can be for Westies and it is amazing how sweet he was the entire time. 

Once we were contacted about him being we sprung into action and with the help of several volunteers Tolley made a four  hour journey to his new foster home. 

Unfortunately, after less than 24 hrs he ended up at the vet. He stayed for a few days but wasn’t getting better and was transferred to the Veterinary specialist hospital to be admitted for more aggressive treatment. He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia and he was struggling. 

It has been an ordeal and it’s not over yet. It has been over week and he is still hospitalized. It has been discovered he has a heart murmur that will need further evaluation once he can get over this pneumonia. 

Every doctor and technician we speak to starts each conversation with how amazing this pup is. He has the will to survive with everything he has endured all while wagging his tail and wiggling his entire body when he sees people walk into his room. This little senior boy deserves to live out the rest of his days happy and loved.  We are so happy so many people are stepping up to give this pup what he needs.

Susan D. Massey

Director, Westie Rescue SouthEast

Update January 4, 2023:

Tolley is perkier, eating very well (once I started to feed good ole kibble) and taking his meds which are pretty high powered. I had a long talk with my regular vet, who saw him FIRST. So next Monday he will do another Xray and exam. Since he has the ORIGINAL XRAY to compare to also!!! Please pray that those lungs are clearing. I am also doing Courtage (percussion) and added cool humidity to the small powder room he is in. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. This is a long process I am finding out.

Thank you for your support!!

Susie

;

Bella

by westiemed in Stories
Bella

The Westie Club of the South received Bella on March 25, 2022 at the age of 3 months. Her breeder surrendered her because of a disorder involving an ectopic ureter.  We were advised by the University of Georgia (UGA) Veterinary Hospital that surgery was the only option for improving Bella’s condition. She underwent the procedure which was originally done with a scope in hopes the issue could be corrected without making an incision.  Unfortunately, one of the ureters was not attached and was below the actual bladder and more surgery was needed.

The Vet at UGA said he has performed the procedure Bella had hundreds of times and has only seen Bella’s additional issues less than 10 times.  Shortly after the second surgery, Bella developed a hernia due the wrong size of stitches used and the hernia would continue to grow if not surgically treated. The cost to repair the hernia if treated at UGA would be another $3,000. Bella’s foster caregiver urgently texted her own Vet, Dr. Shannon, after hours to discuss Bella’s situation and Dr. Shannon performed surgery the next day at a significantly reduced cost. Bella’s incontinence issues remained but worse were constant urinary tract infections. The rescue consulted a specialty vet in Greenville, SC  and the recommendation was to perform a Vulvoplasty to fix the issue causing the infections. Dr. Shannon once again offered to perform the recommended surgery at a reduced cost.

Bella has gone through so much in a short time.  She is doing great…very independent, but loving and sweet.  She still has a “leakage” issue which more than likely will result in her continuing to be in diapers. We humbly thank WestieMed for their support of our organization and sweet young Bella who will now have a bright future bringing joy to others.

Carl

by westiemed in Stories

September 2022

Carl was wandering the streets of LA and was picked up by Animal Control.  He was in pretty bad shape.  His coat was matted, he had painful foxtails imbedded in between his toes, ear infection, skin infection and a horrible upper respiratory infection.  The shelter did what they could for Carl with medication, shaved his coat and removed the foxtails.  However, there was no public interest to adopt Carl because he needed an expensive hip surgery.  

Carl’s only chance of exiting the shelter was if rescue came for him and when we found out that Carl had been lingering there for several months, we knew we were his only chance. Oddly enough, when we arrived at the shelter, there was a person in line ahead of us there for Carl, but again, Carl was turned down because of the cost of surgery.

Carl needed time to recover from his upper respiratory infection and once he did, he had his surgery.  He also had a dental at the same time and thankfully he did because foxtails were found imbedded in between his teeth!  Overall, he did well only losing a few teeth, but had he not been on antibiotics for his upper respiratory infection, his mouth could have been much worse.  

Carl has several weeks of rehabilitation ahead of him.  We are doing range of motion exercises and short walks to aid his recovery.  He is now using that leg and walking on all fours which is something he hasn’t done since coming to rescue.    

Living on the streets and shelter life took a toll on him, but thanks to WestieMed, Carl has a new lease on life!  This incredibly sweet and playful boy will now live pain free thanks to the surgery.  This is something that he probably hasn’t had in a very long time.  

Thank you WestieMed!

Karen Simondet – WROC

Charlie

by westiemed in Stories

Those of you reading this know the loss of a pet is heartbreaking. Anyone who loves dogs knows they are members of our family…irreplaceable and unforgettable. This story starts out with the loss of our Westie-terrier mix Buddy. We had found him as a stray on the road all matted and dirty. No one eventually claimed him so he became a member of our family. For 2 ½ years he gave us joy. We lost him this summer due to inoperable adrenal gland tumors. We were devastated, but despite the loss, we as a family knew that we needed to rescue another Westie or Westie-mix in the name of Buddy. That is when I saw a picture of Charlie on the rescue’s page. We knew that he was the one! One problem, he was at a rescue in Arizona. There was only one thing to do and that was to drive to Arizona to get this little guy. (People thought we were crazy, but look at him – that face!) The whole trip took about 6 days and instead of just coming home with one dog, we came home with two. Charlie and his brother CJ had been surrendered to the rescue by their owner. Charlie was being fostered with his bonded brother CJ (not biological brother). The rescue offered a 2 for 1 deal to keep them together and of course there was no question, we were now coming home with 2 dogs.

Even before we got home my husband had gotten pet insurance on the little guys. As per the insurance there is a 14 day waiting period before illnesses are covered…we weren’t worried. Both CJ and Charlie seemed to have made the trip like champs. The only thing we knew we were goingto have to do was to work on their weight since both of them were overweight. Charlie was only with us a few days when we noticed he didn’t want to eat (which is VERY unlike Charlie). We got up the next morning and he didn’t want a treat, then we went outside and I was horrified to see him do his business and it was all bloody. We immediately got him in to see our primary vet. They were very concerned and diagnosed him with Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (vets don’t really know what causes it). I had no idea what that was and had never seen anything like that before. They immediately sent us to an emergency vet since apparently this can be a serious life threatening illness if not treated right away. I was so scared and didn’t know what I would do if we lost Charlie so soon. Charlie was admitted for hospitalization which was going to be a significant expense. We knew that he needed to be there and of course we were going to get him the help he needed, but remember the pet insurance…well all of this happened 3 days before the insurance kicked in. We had no idea how we were going to afford his lifesaving care. Then I saw the website for WestieMed. I applied for assistance with them and told them Charlie’s story. He obviously stole their hearts too since they decided to help us. Thanks to WestieMed, Charlie is now back home with his furever family. He is on the road to recovery and starting to transition back to normal food. We are so grateful to WestieMed and their support because having Charlie home and feeling better is a gift.

We lost our beloved Westie-mix Buddy and went to rescue Charlie, but he really rescued us. We feel the loss of Buddy, but every day with Charlie and the unconditional love this little guy gives us is priceless and we know just how lucky we are to have him in our lives.

Thank you WestieMed for being there to help Westies and their families in need like you did for us!

Garnet and Loren

Orbison

by westiemed in Stories

Orbison was taken to the vet by his previous owners with a request to put him down due to his skin condition. The family was moving and said they did not know what else to do. The vet saw that Orbison had a lot of living to do so requested that he be released to them and then reached out Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston for help. We immediately made changes to Orbison’s diet and medical regimen and his skin was improving but we noticed this sweet boy was having trouble navigating the elements of his foster home. A trip to the eye specialist showed that Orbison had cataracts in both eyes and was an excellent candidate for surgery. Orbison is spunky and loves to play with toys. We knew surgery would greatly improve his quality of life where he could enjoy many more years of toys and squirrel chasing.

Orbison had successful cataract-removal surgery on Thursday, June 23 (his 9th birthday!)  There have been some concerns with his eye pressure post-surgery which has required additional monitoring, drops, and vet visits but Orbison doesn’t seem to mind.  He is a patient little conehead who willingly takes his many eye drops throughout the day and is nothing but smiles at the dogtor’s office for his follow-ups. Orbison has a few more follow-up appointments to go but looks forward to playing with toys, chasing squirrels, and wrestling with his furry friends in his foster home and in his furever home very soon!

Thank you again for your grant to help him.

Update November 6, 2022:

Orbison now treats every day as a new day as he visually explores the world around him. His squirrel chasing game has improved greatly and he now jumps for excitement when you grab his leash. He carefully examines everything inside and out and happily jumps in the car to watch the world pass by his window.

It’s been almost 6 months since Orbison’s cataract removal surgery. While he had some initial concerns post surgery, Orbison has since healed and is enjoying life in his furever home!

We are grateful for the help WestieMed provided to allow us to give Orbison the gift of full vision and improve this goofy boy’s quality of life. Thank you!


Kristen Dohle

Volunteer and Orbison’s Foster Mom

Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston

Amber

by westiemed in Stories

Hello to the WestieMed family and to the supporters and recipients like myself who have received help from the WestieMed community. With gratitude I’m pleased to share my experience about the WestieMed family! I call them family because this is who I see them as. From the beginning to end these folks have been more than I expected for me and my baby Amber.

Amber was rescued and after 6 months we found an issue with her hip/ leg called Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. This affected her ability to walk and, at times, even worse it broke her spirit. From the start Amber was a loving, sweet soul always cheerful by waggling her tail showing affection and so forth. But 6 months in I saw a drastic change where she began hopping on 3 legs – that is when I realized something was definitely wrong.

With me living on a fixed income, the first thing that came to mind is if a problem is discovered, where would the funds come from to cover the cost.

This is when I first encountered the WestieMed family. I reached out to them seeking help and some assistance. Within minutes the WestieMed family replied in concern to help and the requirements needed for assistance. I provided the information to them and they didn’t hesitate to render their assistance!

I received financial help to correct that issue and Amber had surgery. I felt the issue was taken care of, however, periodically Amber would begin hopping on the leg like before and also lost her appetite. I took Amber for a veterinary consult and I found out the same issue was still there and the surgery did not repair it!

Second time around I reached out to the WestieMed family and again they walked with me through every step of the way! Amber’s surgery was a success and was paid through the WestieMed organization.

My Ambie can now live free from this issue and we look forward now to a normal life! I am grateful and thankful for all the help we received from the WestieMed family and just want to say I can’t speak about any other Charitable organizations out there but this one. The dignity, respect, integrity, support and the relief of stress this organization offers is immaculate.

May I say thanks again for the help and assistance we’ve received from you. It is truly appreciated.

Because of the WestieMed family Amber is recovering and healing up, even moving around periodically on the leg. She went for a post-op surgical care appointment and all is well.

She will have to do therapy because over time she lost 90% of mobility on that leg, but thankful and grateful we found the WestieMed family to help us through our trying time.

Update December 28, 2022:

Season’s Greetings WestieMed family! 

It’s been a while since I have reached out, but i have not forgotten you guys. I am just reaching out before the year ends.

Amber is doing ok, but every now & then she’ll hop off the bad leg especially when it’s very cold. All I can say she might have to live with this issue for the rest of her life.

But I am grateful to have had WestieMed in our corner when we needed you. I hope you all are doing well. Just can’t thank you enough.

Thanks for your help.