Duchess arrived at Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston in July 2013 after her two moms died; the first when she was 3 1/2 years old and the second, her original mom’s sister, four years later. Because she is diabetic and blind from cataracts caused by diabetes, no other family members were willing to care for her. Daily insulin injections and the cost of insulin, along with caring for a blind dog, were overwhelming for them. After seven weeks in a kennel at her veterinarian’s office, the family released Duchess to WSRH. Her first stop was the intake house, where she was introduced to the resident pack and other fosters waiting for new homes. Duchess also was put on a healthy diet of grain-free food and was taken to see WSRH’s vet, Dr. Keith French at Bear Branch Animal Hospital. When Dr. French finished his initial exam and blood work, he implanted a microchip and a video of the procedure was shared on Facebook. To watch the video click here.
Duchess had always been an only dog so understandably was a bit overwhelmed with all the action and new dogs around her. She was able to maneuver around the dog room after a few days there but demonstrated her love of “caves” by crawling onto an open shelf in a cabinet. This became her daytime safe area. Fortunately for Duchess, it was only a week before first-time foster parents Dewayne and Cathy took her to their home. Although blind, she quickly learned to navigate the furniture in their house and established cave areas under furniture where she could hide after meals to try to avoid her insulin injections. This has become a game for her; lead Mom and Dad on a hunt for Duchess in her caves.
One discovery in her new foster home is that Duchess is a barker; when she is unsure of her surroundings when she can’t find the toy she dropped when she wants a playmate, the barking begins. Duchess has a strong prey drive and spends hours daily “looking” for squirrels along the backyard fence. She and her foster brothers run along the fence line while the squirrel runs along the top. When the squirrel is gone, the boys go into the house but Duchess continues to run along the bottom of the fence, barking. She likes to play with squeaky toys or toys with bells in them, however, when she drops the toy, the barking begins while she tries to find it.
Duchess and her foster brothers, two Westies and a Schnauzer mix, frequent the local dog park where Duchess is happily playing with smaller dogs. She tries to follow her foster brothers but they always run too fast for her to keep up. While the dog park has lots of open spaces for her to play, Duchess runs into fences and has fallen into the shallow pond. Duchess is socialized with other dogs, but her vision loss makes meeting new dogs difficult for her. When new dogs approach her too quickly or bark near her, she becomes frightened and looks for Mom or Dad to pick her up.
After monitoring Duchess’s blood sugar levels, Dr. French suggested that Duchess might be a candidate for cataract surgery because her diabetes was under control so he referred her to Gulf Coast Animal Eye Clinic. Dewayne made an appointment and took Duchess to see Dr. Jim Swanson who started her on a regimen of twice-daily eye drops to control swelling behind her corneas. After a month of this treatment, Dr. Swanson approved Duchess for cataract surgery and agreed to waive half his fee of $3600. With the help of WestieMed paying the remainder of the surgical fee, Duchess will soon be able to see the squirrels she loves to chase.
Duchess will always be diabetic but cataract surgery will make her more adoptable and allow her to lead a fuller, safer life. We are very grateful for WestieMed and all of its supporters for the assistance provided to Duchess and the other Westies who need extra help in getting them ready for forever homes.
Cathy and Dewayne Norris, Grateful Foster Parents
Westie & Scottie Rescue Houston
Update December 5, 2014
It seems the holidays, more than any other time of year, remind us to be grateful for the blessings we receive. Duchess was one of those blessings and WestieMed multiplied the blessing tenfold. When we took Duchess in, she had outlived two owners and was blind due to cataracts caused by diabetes. Our wonderful vet helped us get and keep her blood sugar under control and, thanks to a grant from WestieMed, we were able to have the surgery done to remove her cataracts and restore her eyesight. Duchess was still healing from the surgery when a wonderful person whose Westie also was older and diabetic, saw her profile and knew that she had to have Duchess in her life. As as soon as the surgeon cleared her, Duchess moved to her forever home.
Duchess’s forever mom sent us the attached photo showing how happy this beautiful girl is now. We always will be grateful to Dr. Keith French at Bear Branch Animal Hospital, Dr. Jim Swanson at Gulf Coast Animal Eye Clinic, and WestieMed for making this beautiful creature’s life brighter.
Kind regards,
Maggie Escriva
Volunteer, Director
Westie & Scottie Rescue Houston
Update July 29, 2015
We are happy to provide additional updates as the gift WestieMed helped provide is a lifetime of vision for this dear girl.
Duchess was adopted by a wonderful woman who has another older Westie girl who also is diabetic so she is quite familiar with dietary and medical needs.
Her mom told us that Duchess and her sister, Leia, had good reports at their recent vet checkup.
Thank you to WestieMed for enabling happy tails like this.
Kind regards,
Maggie
Westie & Scottie Rescue Houston