Renal disease – WestieMed

Angus came to Westie Rescue of Northern California (WRAP) from a northern California shelter on 12/2/2017 after several people contacted us on Facebook about him. Angus was a stray, that the shelter said was about ten years old. Angus was fairly blind only seeing some shadows with cataracts in both eyes. His dental condition was poor. He had early renal disease and was mildly anemic. In addition, he was hard of hearing and had ulcers in his eyes which were discovered later. As the WRAP volunteer was sitting in her car to leave the shelter, Angus began to throw up. That set the tone for the weeks to come. He didn’t want to eat and when he did he was sick.

Angus was very dirty and matted on arrival so he was groomed within days. He looked beautiful when done. Angus was a very good boy for the groomer.

His loving foster mother took him to the Veterinarian almost immediately (and often) to start to deal with his medical issues which were many but most importantly his nausea. Multiple labs and testing over the next months were done along with teeth cleaning. He saw three different Veterinarians (including an Ophthalmologist) over four and a half months for various issues.

Angus was a loving boy who had clearly been loved at one time. He got along well with the others dogs in the foster home and became very bonded with them and his foster mom. Angus blossomed with some love and medical care. After over four and a half months Angus was finally cleared for adoption.

Angus was adopted by his foster mother on April 20, 2018.

Thank you WestieMed for helping us provide for Angus.

Update July 2019

Angus, my little man of the house went to Rainbow Bridge on Thursday, November 1st, 2018. We knew he was going to be a tough case because he was very ill when he first came to rescue and us. In spite, of his poor beginnings, Angus was a very sweet boy, enjoying his time snuffling around in the yard, lending affection whenever and wherever he could, and enjoying his food.

We think he was about twelve but he had had a very hard life and ultimately his kidneys failed him. Though he was blind and deaf, he really did manage to get around just fine and would meet me at the door with the rest of his pup siblings.

He was a beautiful little Westie and had the most expressive tail. A great lover of cuddling, he just loved to be around others and made friends easily with the rest of my crew. I love my girl Westie dearly, but oh how those little boys break my heart every time. Angus will be greatly missed.

Mom Janet

Rosie came to us as a surrender in very poor condition, with significant hair loss over her back half and under her neck. The hair that she still had was very long and stained; she had black skin from a long-term skin disorder, and she was covered with flea dirt. She was also vomiting up everything. The owner realized she was critical but had no means to care for her. When I got her to my vet he realized she was in acute renal failure. She spent six days in ICU, and he managed to save her life. It turned out that the renal failure had been brought on largely by a lifetime of mis-medication (too much prednisone).

Rosie’s recovery was remarkable. After about six weeks of treatment, her blood levels showed that her kidneys were almost self-sufficient. She is on a strict diet of prescription food for kidney patients, and she still needs sub-Q fluids – but only every few days. She will need to be checked every few months, but with proper care and a good diet we hope for even more improvement. She can’t ever be spayed because the anesthesia would damage her kidneys. Despite her history, she is now expected to live almost a normal life. She is a very sweet dog, housebroken, and loves people and animals.

Through some miracle, an elderly couple came to us recently wanting an older westie. They didn’t care about medical issues or costs. They came to meet Rosie, and were enchanted with her and took her home. The love between the couple and Rosie was obvious – she loved them as much as they loved her. We did not charge them an adoption fee, due to the extraordinary costs they are taking on, which will be at a minimum, $150 – $200 monthly.

The generosity of WestieMed enables small rescue groups like Garden State Westie Rescue to do what we do. If we were not sure that WestieMed would help us out with extraordinary cases like this, we would not be able to take in these dogs, and deserving dogs like Rosie would die too young. Rosie’s story is just one more example of how one special westie was given a second chance at life thanks to the good folks at WestieMed.

Lisa Curry
Garden State Westie Rescue

Update January 14, 2016

Rosie is now named Piper. She gets her fluids every other day at the vet and she is on Benedryl (for summer itching, allergies), Prilosec, gabepentin, aluminum hydroxide, kelp help supplement powder, organic (no salt – just peanuts) peanut butter, organic plain yogurt and chunky applesauce (just apples).

She weighs 15.6 pounds and is doing very well. The pain medication has helped immensely toward a happy attitude especially with some of the hindquarter and tail pain she experiences.

She is still on the dry Purina NF food and tolerates a 1/4 cup for breakfast and a 1/4 cup at dinner with some of each of the “people” foods listed above. Figured out how much to give her and it helps with not having episodes of spit-up. Our vet group is the best and they watch her closely. Blood work is done on occasion to help with giving her the best medical care as well. The hair on her back (though thin) has grown in nicely! She has come a long way, naps contentedly and loves walks in the back! She is very loving as well.