March 2003:
West Highland White Terrier Club of California got a call from an older woman who said she could not keep her almost three year old female westie because she was gone quite a bit and the dog sitter was costing her more than she could afford. She did not like the idea of Josie Marie (now called Jody) not having a home with someone home all the time. She finally decided to give her to us.
I picked her up and found a very lovely and very friendly little female. The problem she had was with legs. She was placed in foster care with a volunteer who does agility. She took her the day after she got her to an Agility Trial that her Jack Russell was entered as she did not want to leave her alone her first day. Foster mom got to the trials early just to see what Jody would do with the equipment…well, she took to it as if she had been trained in Agility. The other friends there were also amazed at her abilities. Jody was then taken to a vet to have an evaluation done. The regular veterinarian said she had luxating patellas and referred us to a specialist. The diagnosis was the same and we decided without question to have the surgery performed.
The surgery was a success and Jody is recuperating in a very nice motor home somewhere in Las Vegas, with a special crate rigged up so she can see outside while they are driving. She doesn’t much like her Elizabethan collar but who does! She continues to thrive, eat well and the staples were removed by our veterinarian in Las Vegas, Dr. Clarissa Engstrom, who has been wonderful towards our rescue efforts there. Jody will now be going through her rahabilitation period and will soon be as good as new!
Thank you WestieMed in assisting us in paying for this expensive surgery!
Elaine Delgado, Rescue Chair for the WHWTCC
Update September 2003:
Hello! Our darling little Jody is doing just fine ! She has, in fact, started training for agility, as you can see, here! We are so proud of her and just love her to pieces. We certainly thank WestieMed for the part they played in getting our little girl able to move her legs like a normal westie! The surgery was a success…..they did, however, leave the pins in, but the orthopedic felt we shouldn’t have any trouble in the future with that.
Thank all of you, again Pat Harrington and Jody