Kramer has had skin problems for as long as he can remember and his family, who loved him very much, contacted Westie & Scottie Rescue Houston for ideas to help him feel better. We spoke with them about diet and medical care. They adjusted his diet and took him to specialists who prescribed medicated baths and medications. All the while, Kramer’s family was also dealing with other family members’ medical issues and, when it became too much for them, asked that WSRH take him in.
Kramer was a happy boy despite his obvious misery so we rolled up our sleeves to try to get him feeling better. Our vets at Bear Branch Animal Hospital assessed him and helped form our initial course of treatment which included continuing restricting his diet and his anti-fungal medication, antibiotics, prednisone, and medicated baths. Although skin scrapings did not show any mites, the blackness around his eyes, ears, and sides made us suspect he might have demodectic mange so we added Advantage Multi to his regimen and, when he started to improve, we started to wean him from his medications. Kramer was able to stay off prednisone long enough to get a much-needed dental but his skin started getting worse again so the vet recommended putting him back on a short course to try to get through the issues.
Kramer – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Over the next months, we continued Kramer’s regimen of antimicrobial and anti=fungal baths along with medications and restricted diet and he seemed to improve and then he would suddenly get worse. We tested him for thyroid conditions, which showed normal, but biopsies of his skin showed the presence of resistant staph infection, requiring specific antibiotic treatment. Following a three month course of the antibiotic determined to combat this bacterial infection, tests showed it had cleared and another resistant bacteria presented, requiring a different antibiotic. We also had allergy tests done to determine if there were any environmental causes, but he only showed sensitivity to Black Willow trees and cat dander, neither of which are in his immediate environment.
We have considered Kramer to be like an onion, peeling one layer of issues after another, as we continue to treat fungal and bacterial infections. We are grateful to WestieMed for assisting with the process to rule out some issues and, hopefully, get a handle on what is needed to get and keep Kramer healthy. We look forward to his finding a forever home where he can live happily and healthily ever after.
Maggie Escriva
Westie & Scottie Rescue Houston
Update July 11, 2018
Kramer – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Kramer turned six yesterday so it seemed a good time for another update. As you know, he found his furever home with a longtime Westie rescue volunteer who will continue his regimen and keep him feeling good.
Kramer’s mom works from home and says he is her shadow, always nearby watching what she’s doing.
We are grateful to WestieMed for the assistance that enabled us to continue testing and treating Kramer until we could get through the itch. He has a good life ahead of him now that all the infections are gone.
Christie is a five-year-old breeding dog from the Central Valley of California. She was kept in a warehouse. When she failed to get pregnant the last time she was in heat the breeder handed her over to a lady that finds rescues to take former breeding dogs.
Christie came to Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California (WRAP) on August 23rd, 2017. She was in heat. We kept her in a quiet environment for several weeks allowing her to adjust to life in a home. At first, she was reluctant to come out of her crate even with the door open. When her paws first touched grass she didn’t know what to do. We focused on housetraining, learning to go up and downstairs, walking on a leash and social skills with dogs and people. Christie is very bright and has picked up on these tasks very quickly. More focus continues to be needed on social skills and trust-building. She is timid and continues to shy away from touch.
Christie needed a full workup due to poor medical care. She visited the veterinarian on September 5th for shots and a general physical and blood work. On September 7th, 2017 she was spayed (no longer in heat), her teeth were cleaned, treated for hookworms, and she had six extractions due to bad or damaged teeth. She also received a microchip. On September 21. 2017 she made a follow-up visit to the Veterinarian. We are hopeful that Christie will be adopted by her foster in the not too distant future. Her progress has been remarkable and we anticipate she will go on to live a full and happy life. She is house trained, walks on a leash, seeks out her foster for petting and contact. She sleeps in the big bed with her foster Dad and Westie sister. She is starting to play with toys and her new sister, She is good in public with other dogs and people. She is becoming more trusting every day.
We are grateful to WestieMed for the support they provide to rescue organizations that enables us to help more dogs than we might otherwise be able to help. Christie thanks you too.
Barbara Mordy
Westie Rescue and Placement (WRAP)
Update June 2018
Christie – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Remember Christie?
She’s the puppy-mill breeder girl, rescued last August by Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California.
Christie was scared of everything and didn’t know even the most basic things about living indoors with people to love her.
Well, not anymore!
Now she loves to be petted and plays with toys enthusiastically. She even rolls over on her back sometimes while playing tug with her Dad and she’s a good fetcher too. She sleeps in the big bed with her Dad and older sister Terry. And, she even relaxes for a while in Dad’s lap when she’s in the mood to let him pick her up and put her there. She’s one smart cookie!
This is all thanks to WestieMed and their generosity in helping to get the medical care she needed
In late June, I signed on Facebook to find that several of my many Westie loving Facebook friends had sent me, Director of Westie Rescue NYC, a link to a tiny seven-year-old Westie mix who had come to find herself abandoned in the NYC shelter. Her name was Selena, and she weighed only eleven pounds. She came from East Harlem, NYC, having been brought to the shelter by a neighbor of her owner after her owner had become too ill to take care of her. Well even in her bedraggled state, she looked cute-as-a-button in her intake pic. I knew I could not leave her there even after the shelter informed me that her teeth were very bad and that she had arthritis. She also had cataracts, but at that time, I didn’t know that she was practically blind. Selena’s condition put her into a precarious position. If the right person or rescue did not come along who was willing to take her, Selena could very well be put to sleep. Of course, I took her home with me!
The good news was that Selena had already been spayed before going into the shelter, so she didn’t need to have that operation, which meant that I could bathe her right away. Cute-as-a-button though she was, she was also very, very stinky!
More good news! The stains on Selena’s front teeth had made them look to be much worse than they actually were. After a dental that required only three extractions of tiny front teeth, Selena had a movie star smile to match her fantastic personality. And she showed few signs of arthritis. Almost immediately I had a potential adopter lined up for her.
Selena proved to be one sweet, sweet dog who loved nothing better than to be right by my side. She immediately got along well with my twenty-year-old cat and with one of my Westies, twelve-year-old Missy Paulette, who is usually very jealous. She didn’t get along as well with sixteen-year-old Casey Jane, but then no one does except Missy Paulette. When Casey Jane snapped at Selena, Selena didn’t snap back. She would only try to move out of the way. But Selena kept getting into Casey Jane’s way, and so I began to suspect that maybe she couldn’t see very well.
Soon it became more obvious that Selena could not see very well. When walking, if not watched, she would walk right into a building or off a curb. At home, she liked to stay in one place either on the bed or on the couch. When I would come into the room, she would gaze towards me, with an inquisitive unfocused stare.
Selena’s adoption fell through. The couple that was going to adopt her did not feel able to take on an almost blind dog.
By this time, I had fallen in love with Selena and I knew I had to find a foster home for her quick. Not only was I working long hours, but with three senior pets of my own, keeping her was not the right thing to do. Luckily, a wonderful foster home was found and Selena’s foster mother will continue with her story.
During the first week in August, Monica posted Selena’s story and photo on Facebook. I knew Monica already had two senior Westies, so I offered to foster Selena. When Selena arrived, I took my Westie, Milo who is also a rescue, outside to meet them and go for a nice walk in the park right across the street. Milo took an interest in Selena immediately, and so did I. She is a little love bug. And when we met up with a friend of mine who spoke to her in Spanish, Selena’s ears perked up. We realized at that moment that she is bilingual.
Selena – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Selena settled in with us quickly. I noticed a difference in just a few days. Her appetite improved, she loves her treats and she loves eating out of Milo’s bowl, even though she has one of her own! She is a feisty little thing, very funny and a real charmer. All she wants is to love and be loved. I know she can’t see, but she looks at you as if she is looking into your soul. I now call her Lena. Here she is with Milo.
It was clear to me from the beginning that Lena couldn’t see well because she bumped into things a lot. She has walked into my front door head first. When we got into the building elevator, she couldn’t see and her foot slipped down between the cab and the elevator shaft! Fortunately, I was able to pull her out quickly. It was so scary. And she has trouble seeing the edge of the steps forcing me to continually lift her up with her harness. Unfortunately, I walk with a cane that she bumps into and walks in circles around. I have tripped over her twice. She walks very close to me because she can’t see where she is going. After learning that WestieMed may be able to help with the expense, I took her to the ophthalmologist to see whether anything could be done for her to improve her sight, her quality of life and to increase her chances of being adopted. The vet confirmed that Lena has cataracts and they would only get worse, but they are operable. Lena is only seven and she is healthy other than that. Getting her cataracts removed will be life-changing for her.
Well even though she and I keep getting tangled up, Lena has made it very clear to us that she is happy in our home, and she doesn’t want to go anywhere else. I have watched her bloom in a short period of time. She has taken a liking to all of Milo’s soft toys, destroying quite a few of them, because she loves to rip the stuffing out! Milo doesn’t mind, he would rather play with his ball anyway. The two of them enjoy one another’s company and get along perfectly well together. Lena does love being the center of attention, and sometimes I do need to remind her that she is not the only dog in the house. I am so very pleased with her progress. I very much look forward to the day when her sight is improved, because Milo and I love her and hope to adopt her once her eyes are fixed. Thanks to the generous grant from WestieMed this now looks very possible.
Update July 11, 2018:
Selena (now Lena) is doing very well since her surgery in January. She has been back to Cornell for two follow up checkups and passed with flying colors. The doctors were very pleased with the outcome.
When I first got Lena, she would cry like a banshee every time she went out for a walk. Since the surgery, she has calmed down significantly. She has gained a great deal of confidence. In the past month or so, I have really seen a difference. She jumped off my bed onto a pillow so she feels confident enough to get down by herself. This past week, when I take her to the dog park, she has ventured out to meet other dogs rather than just sitting on my lap.
Everyone loves her. The nurses and doctors adored her. My other dog, Milo, had been her protector and big brother. They have been getting along very well.
Everything has worked out beautifully thanks to the help that WestieMed gave us towards her cataract surgery. It made a huge difference for Lena. I can’t thank you enough. I will send you a photo shortly.
Miss Callie is a very special six to eight-year-old West Highland White Terrier that found as a stray by the City of Columbus Animal Control. She had a microchip, but the owner never registered it so when she had what they thought was a seizure in her cage they reached out to us at the Preston Cares Network Westie Rescue to pull her for $10 to get medical care as soon as her stray hold was complete.
When our vet looked at Callie, they quickly realized that there was something wrong with her heart and that her heartbeat was very irregular. It was beating very very slow; forty beats a minute. More tests were performed including an X-ray and an EKG. Those tests revealed she has Sick Sinus Syndrome. This syndrome is a condition in which the Sinus (the heart’s natural pacemaker) does not send regular signals to the heart to pump correctly. What animal control had thought was a seizure was Miss Callie passing out and coming too. Our vet consulted a specialist in Louisville, and after reviewing the test results, it was determined that she needs a pacemaker and as soon as possible. Our vet reached out to several teaching vet hospitals and collected quotes for the surgery. The closest and cheapest (and recommended) is Purdue University. In addition to the financial assistance we received from WestieMed, we also plan to fundraise through Facebook and our email list (as soon as the 4th is over) because we are expecting costs from $3,500 to $4,000. The total costs will also include the three days in ICU for recovering and adjusting the pacemaker, the testing that was already done, and the follow up care and trips to Purdue. Just through very limited word of mouth we have raised 150 dollars.
Miss Callie is one of the sweetest and kindest Westies we have ever had in our rescue. She wants to be around people and be held and wants to cuddle. She loves to sleep on pillows and gets along with the fosters Westies and cats. She knows several commands such as sit and stay, and leave it (well for a few seconds — she is a Westie after all) and is fully house trained. The vet said with this pacemaker she should completely recover and should have no more issues with the Sick Sinus Syndrome as long as the pacemaker is maintained each year. We hope to get Miss Callie this surgery so she can have a nice long life sleeping on someone couch enjoying the pet life.
Rachel Phelps Preston Cares Network Westie Rescue
Update January 24, 2018
Thanks to the very generous grant from WestieMed, Callie was able to have her pacemaker surgery at the University of Illinois (IU). Just recently, she had her six-month checkup, and the vets were happy to find that the pacemaker is working really well. They have even cleared her to have her dental soon. Also, her heart looks stable and hasn’t shown any signs of enlarging or more damage. She will always need extra care and checkups with her specialists, but the pacemaker has given her a great quality of life back. She now loves to play, go on walks, and even nap on her new family’s bed.
During the trips back and forth to IU, she met her future mom which is a 2nd-year vet student at the university. It was a perfect match! Callie is able to live close to her heart specialists and she has a mom and dad who is very knowledgeable about her condition! She even has a Westie brother to play with!
Callie has accepted a “dog job” with the IU vet school. She attends community events representing the cardiac program and she is a teaching assistant for the dental department for first-year students to practice doing dental exams. The students are learning so much from Callie! This shows how this WestieMed grant is helping more than just this one dog but is helping train future veterinarians about health conditions.
In January of this year, we were contacted by Bocci’s owner. She had gotten Bocci as a puppy and he was fine and healthy for years. Then he began having ear infections. She said she worked with the vet for a few years but the infections just kept coming back. Her vet told her the only way to treat him at this point was an ear ablation surgery. She had a baby and was a single mother with a new baby and other children to care for. She contacted us for assistance because she could no longer afford the cost to continue treating him.
Bocci came to us on January 29, 2017. Our first intake exam confirmed the ear infection. That vet referred us to a specialist, who also talked about the ear ablation. Unfortunately, the person that had agreed to foster Bocci was having a difficult time caring for him so we moved him to his current foster home. The distance between the foster homes required us to take him to yet another vet who really felt that they might be able to help him without the surgery. Sadly, it didn’t work and we need the surgery to help finally clear up the infection.
Aggie Latyak
Update January 24, 2018
Bocci – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Thank you again to WestieMed for the help for Bocci.
He is doing so well now. The pain he was always in from the chronic ear infections is gone and he is enjoying life again. The surgery went very well, though it left him with a droopy ear, which makes him even cuter.
Unfortunately, due to his advanced age at twelve years, we’ve had no interested adopters, but he loves his foster home.
Cosmo is a two-year-old Westie who found himself in an unfortunate situation on June 16, 2017. Cosmo has an unfortunate disease called portosystemic shunt (PSS) that he has likely had since birth. A portosystemic shunt is a disease where the blood that is normally taken through the liver to be filtered is redirected around the liver via a vessel that is not there in a normal dog. When this happens the toxins that would normally be filtered out of the blood by the liver remain in the blood and can cause symptoms that can complicate the lives of the dogs with the disease. While some dogs do not develop signs and can live a semi-normal life, Cosmo was not so lucky. Cosmo is normal on the outside and loves to play, explore, and bird watch out the window; however, he has had difficulties with the side effects of the PSS.
Cosmo experienced urinary tract signs and symptoms of PSS including the development of bladder stones and urinary tract infections that were hard to control along with bouts of diarrhea. Cosmo’s previous owner paid for surgery to have the stones removed and even started medical management in an effort to control the signs and symptoms of the PSS.
Unfortunately, Cosmo still struggled and began urinating in the house multiple times a day. As much as Cosmo’s former owner loved him, it became too difficult to take care of Cosmo’s extra needs and clean up the messes. Cosmo was brought in to be humanely euthanized when his veterinarian asked if she could try and find a home for the adorable, life-loving pup.
A day later, I, a fourth-year veterinary student at Louisiana State University, went home to visit the clinic where I have worked since I was fourteen years old. My wife of one year and I were visiting with the veterinarian when Cosmo came running around the corner exploring his temporary home. My wife saw Cosmo and immediately fell in love wanting to foster him. We have a few other dogs and I immediately indicated that this was not a great idea and he would find a home. For about a week my wife would ask me if I thought we had made the right decision and if I really thought Cosmo would find a forever home. I would answer, “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” After a week of my wife trying to find homes for Cosmo, I told her that if she wanted to go pick him up and he got along with our current dogs we could foster him until the clinic could find him a home.
Cosmo came home with us six days after our initial meeting and he fit right in. On the second night of his stay with us, Cosmo slept right next to my head and I fell for him as hard as, if not harder than my wife had. He is so personable and loves to play so much that he truly adds to the joy in our lives. After discussing it, I told my wife if we could raise the money to get Cosmo’s condition fixed we would keep him. I took Cosmo to school with me the next week and began talking to clinicians in the hospital and we commenced testing to find out exactly what was wrong with Cosmo. That day Cosmo was officially diagnosed with PSS after an ultrasound revealed a large vein bypassing the liver. Options were discussed and surgery is the absolute best treatment for this particular condition. We started Cosmo on two weeks of medication to prepare his body for the surgery and scheduled the operation.
As a single income family, with myself in school, it was not going to be easy to pay for this surgery, but Cosmo had stolen our hearts. We began looking for ways to raise money for his surgery. That is when I found WestieMed and reached out to them for any help that they could offer. Their staff has been great to work with and help us along this process and they have been so generous to make this surgery more affordable for my wife and I. We are looking forward to Cosmo’s surgery and recovery allowing him to live a more normal life! Thank you WestieMed!
Kevin, Joy, & Cosmo
Update July 24, 2017
We wanted to update you on Cosmo’s status. He underwent surgery on Tuesday (7/18). While they were doing the surgery, they took a biopsy of his liver. Unfortunately, there were significant changes in the liver that indicate a lack of oxygen and cellular death, which means he will likely have liver issues for the rest of his life. However, the surgery itself was successful.
He stayed in ICU for 4 days and received medication for pain, seizure preventive, and antibiotics. He was finally able to come home on Friday with the understanding we’d watch him for seizures, which is a possible complication of the surgery. He is now on a special diet and will remain on the prescribed medication for eight to sixteen weeks. He goes back in two weeks to have his incision checked and will go back in six weeks after that to have bloodwork done. That will tell us if the surgery has started closing off the shunt. He will then go back again in another eight weeks and hopefully by the shunt will be completely closed. At that time we can start weaning him off of medication.
We wanted to keep you guys updated. Thank you again for WestieMed’s generosity. Your financial assistance made it possible for Cosmo to have this necessary surgery and have a full life. Even though his liver is not normal, he will have the best life possible with us and his siblings at home!
Sincerely, Kevin, Joy and Cosmo Shrewsberry Class of 2018 Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine SCAVMA, AABP, AAEP, AASV, HSVMA, ASV
Update January 24, 2018
First, let me express our thankfulness for WestieMed’s financial assistance in Cosmo’s veterinary care. It was a long process to get Cosmo’s liver working better, but he is definitely a healthy dog now!
From the first day I met him, Cosmo was a happy, outgoing little man. However, now, he is even more exuberant (if that is possible) displaying the Westie characteristics! He is definitely a special part of our family’s life. He loves to play with his brothers and sisters; even when everyone else is sleeping, he will go to each sibling and annoy them until someone plays with him. He is convinced he is the largest dog on the block and takes his job as guard dog very seriously until he realizes he could get a scratch from a human or meet a new dog friend then his toughness melts away to wags and licks. Finally, he is a master at expressing his feelings 100% of the time. If we kennel him and he doesn’t like it, he will sit there and make noises like he is having a conversation with us about his situation (it’s especially hilarious when guests are over because they don’t know if they should respond or what). We rescued Cosmo because he was in need of help – regardless of his breed. But it has been a bonus to get to enjoy his Westie personality. Dynamite definitely comes in small packages!
Health-wise, Cosmo is doing well. I can tell he has become stronger. Before his surgery, he would need to stop and have me hold him on our walks. Now, he leads us the entire way! Before the surgery, he would have two to three accidents a day (at least) in the house. This was a primary reason his first owner surrendered him to a veterinary clinic. Now, he rarely has accidents! Cosmo is still on a special diet due to the damage already done to his liver. If it were not for that fact, you would not know he had overcome the disease of a portosystemic shunt (PSS).
Thank you again for helping us give Cosmo the best life he can have! Cosmo always seems to have this little grin when I look at him for more than 5 seconds as if he is saying, “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome”. We are forever grateful for your generosity toward our Cosmo!
Bailey was born on 4/22/16. He came into rescue on 4/28/17 at a little over one year old. He was bought in Nevada at age eight weeks for an eleven-year-old girl to care for and train. That did not happen and the dog was kept in a crate most of the time while the girl was at school and in her bedroom the rest of the time. Finally, the parents and grandmother intervened and contacted Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California (WRAP). Bailey came to WRAP dirty and with severe matting and bloody diarrhea. The family insisted there was no history of diarrhea. Bailey had not been to a veterinarian since getting his puppy shots. He was completely untrained but was social with people and dogs.
Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California (WRAP) received Bailey on April 28, 2017, and that same day he was taken to the veterinarian who did an exam and routine blood work and a heartworm test. Blood work was essentially normal. The heartworm test was negative. He received Rabies and Bordetella vaccinations. Bailey was underweight at 11.8 pounds and was given Flagel for diarrhea. On April 29, 2017, he was treated prophylactically for worms. Bailey was microchipped on May 9, 2017, and tested for parasites (which was negative). Bailey’s diarrhea persisted. Bailey was moved to a home in the Sacramento area on May 15, 2017. He saw the veterinarian on May 17, 2017, for ongoing diarrhea. Another parasite test was done which was also negative. The exam was done and he was put on chicken and rice. He began throwing up along with diarrhea. He returns to the veterinarian on May 19, 2017, and was placed on a special hydrolyzed diet. Bailey was eating ravenously most of his time in rescue. However, diarrhea persisted even with the new diet. The home Bailey was in was unable to keep him so on May 20, 2017, he was moved to a foster-adopt home. Diarrhea persisted. He went to a veterinarian on 5/23/2017. He was removed from Flagel and placed on probiotics and another anti-diarrheal. He was put on a special diet of gastrointestinal food. Bailey returned to the veterinarian for a follow up 5/30/17. He received heartworm and flea medicine. On June 3, 2017, had formed stools for the first time. Baily’s gastro-intestinal problem appears to have finally stabilized. Veterinarian wanted to wait four weeks to neuter to ensure diarrhea was no longer an issue. He was able to be neutered on 6/19/2017. He had an undescended testicle.
Bailey has thrived in his foster-adoptive home. He is a very sweet and loving boy. Gets along well with people and dogs. He was professionally groomed (which was donated) and is a lovely, handsome boy. His adoption is pending on 6/29/2017. Bailey enjoys living on the coast and his daily beach walks.
The support of WestieMed will enable us to help other dogs like Bailey and find them wonderful care forever homes. Thank you for your consideration.
Barbara Mordy
Update January 24, 2018
Bailey – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Bailey was adopted by his foster parents who nursed him through most of his intestinal problems. He’s a very happy boy and is the apple of their eye.
He lives on the coast and takes daily trips to the dog park and to the beach. He gets along well with people and with other dogs.
Bailey continues on a special diet and takes probiotics to help maintain his digestive health. He recently had a short bout of diarrhea again but the Vet was able to quickly manager it.
Here is a photo of Bailey on New Year’s Eve this year.
WRAP and Bailey thank you as do his parents for WestieMed’s help in getting Bailey’s medical issues under control.
Our friend and companion Nigel, a male Westie, died 5/28/16 after a year-long illness. We got him as an eight week old and we were together at home, showroom, and visits to family and friends. He had a big outgoing personality, noisy and friendly to just about everyone except other small non-Westies. I really loved the guy and mourned his passing.
I never thought I would find and accept another Westie until I saw an ad in Pet Finder and saw a picture and description of Izzy also stating what type of home Garden State Westie Rescue was seeking for her. She rang all the right bells for me, and after speaking to Lisa Curry of Garden State, we both agreed that this would be a good fit for all. We adopted her mid-January 2017 and spent the next three weeks learning about each other. We found her a charming, polite, somewhat stubborn dog who really wanted to be part of our lives. We did note that she never finished any of her meals and wanted to go out every few hours. She also became somewhat lethargic after three weeks with us and began to vomit frequently, symptoms not observed by the rescue or her prior home.
We took Isabel to a veterinary hospital, who over the course of two weeks gave her infusions for her dehydration, took blood samples and diagnosed Addison’s disease and we were given appropriate meds and a diet change to a medical soft diet.
All went well, she stopped vomiting, began to eat and appeared to be recovering. She wasn’t. Over the next three weeks, Izzy started to have the same complications as before but this time more severe. A visit to a different emergency hospital, some fluids, blood tests, and ultrasound indicated that Isabel had Cushing’s disease. This hospital has many specialists and we made an appointment the next day to see Dr. Ward, a Gastro specialist. We left Izzy overnight to be infused again for dehydration and receive an endoscope for a better look at her digestive system. The final diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Disease, which is treatable with a daily dose of Budesonide, Pepcid and a diet of boiled chicken and rice. I was taught to give her daily infusions until she began to drink again.
Izzy is a month free of symptoms, has her med and Pepcid every day and really enjoys chicken and rice. I want to thank Lisa Curry for her referral to WestieMed, Dr. Ward of North Star Veterinary Hospital for the diagnosis and recipe for Izzy’s recovery, and Lucy Ryley of WestieMed for her help in recovering a large portion of Izzy’s medical bills. I’m glad to tell Isabel’s story because it has a happy ending. As seniors ourselves we look forward to whatever years Izzy, Lois and I have to be together.
Nemo came to us in terrible shape. He was found as a stray and picked up by animal control. The shelter contacted the owner and his owner said they gave him to another family member. When they were contacted, they stated they did not want him anymore. Nemo was found over 100 miles from his “home”. It was revealed that Nemo was left in a cage for most of his existence. As a result, Nemo had fourteen broken and fractured teeth from trying to chew his way out. This is no way to live!! The shelter asked us if we would be willing to take him on as his skin was a horrid mess, his eyes were infected and so were his ears and were coming down with kennel cough. He was in such bad shape that the shelter thought this two-four year old was a senior! For several weeks, we worked on his skin with medicated soft brush baths and medication. Just recently, we had a complete dental done on Nemo and our vet said that based on the lack of calculus and tarter, Nemo is believed to be around two to for years old at the most. Well, this makes absolute sense because fostering Nemo is like fostering a puppy!! Nemo has been with us for several weeks and already has shown vast improvement. His skin is healing beautifully with the help of medication which he is no longer taking and medicated baths twice a week. His coat is getting thicker by the day and his skin issues were caused simply by neglect. Tender loving care, nutritious meals and a routine he can count on is all he asks for.
Nemo is the sweetest boy around! He gets along with all his foster and resident siblings and does his best to get someone to play with him. He keeps himself entertained by laying on his back, tossing toys up in the air and he loves to eat! He loves the dog park and sleeps soundly in his crate at night and gets run of the house during the day. Nemo will be ready for his very own home soon but the cost to get him this far has been substantial. It can take a lot of money to reverse all the neglect caused by others, but thanks to WestieMed, Nemo has received everything he needs to start a brand new life.
Karen and Kay (Westie Rescue of Orange County & Beyond)
Update January 29, 2018
Nemo – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Our sweet Nemo was adopted by Paul in May. He looks absolutely stunning and is doing extremely well.
His new dad reports that he loves car rides in his new car seat, walks perfectly on a leash, and he completed obedience school with flying colors. Nemo loves to throw his toys in the air with his nose and catch them without a worry in the world.
Years of neglect came with expensive veterinary bills and we couldn’t have done it without you.
Piper is a five and half year old Westie who is a little sweetie with a heart of gold but, unfortunately, that heart is not working as well as it should be at this time.
She was owner surrendered to Scottie Rescue at age five. She was spayed and updated on her vaccines and when she was ready for adoption, she was advertised as available. She went to a new home in Virginia with a Westie lover who already currently had two sweet Westies and wanted to share his home with another one who could benefit from all he had to offer. She’s fit in easily and has become one of the family over the last five months since her adoption.
Although she’d been evaluated at her original vet before her spay, and also been seen by her new dad’s vet after her adoption, oddly it wasn’t until a subsequent vet visit with another vet in the practice, that the heart murmur was detected. At that time, she was referred to a veterinary cardiac specialist in the area. This specialist did a full cardiac workup and advised that the two lower chambers of the heart were not working as well as they should be, and she should have a pacemaker implanted to correct this before it became an emergency. In the meantime, she was put on some medication to keep the pressure low and she’s responded well to that so far.
This was, of course, a big surprise to everyone who had been involved with her prior care. Scottie Rescue offered to take her back, but she had already become part of her new family and her new dad did not want to part with her.
He contacted WestieMed and applied for financial assistance to help offset the high cost of the pacemaker procedure, and thanks to their generosity, she will soon be able to have the surgery that will enable her to have a normal lifespan!!! Her new dad and her new Westie brother and sister hope to have many happy and healthy years together!!! Many thanks!
Piper is doing well at the moment. The doctor thought after her last checkup and scan, she would not need the pacemaker at this time. But could in the future.
