Lillie came to me from Westie Rescue Tennessee where I was to foster her and another dog that came from a puppy mill. Lillie led a miserable life until she was rescued.
When I saw her, I immediately fell in love with those big black liquid eyes. Even as scared as she was, she was able to wag her little tail to say that she trusted me.
I did not know much about her history, but when she came to me, she had medicine for her ears as they were pretty messed up. I religiously put in the drops until she started vomiting and would not stop. I rushed her to my vet on Friday and Lillie was still vomiting in the vet’s office. She was diagnosed with a severe case of Cauliflower ears and my vet said it was so bad that she could do nothing for her and recommended I take her to a specialist in Decatur, Alabama.
I carried Lillie to Decatur which was a two-hour drive from my house and dreaded every minute of it as it was going to cost me around $1,200 per ear and I did not have this type of money. My vet stated that if Lillie did not get the surgery, she would go deaf. This was not what I wanted to hear and because she is such a precious little girl with a very positive attitude, I vowed to help her in any way I could. Before calling Westie Rescue Tennessee, I tried to come up with the money for her surgery, but the vet bills had amounted to over $880.00 and I had nothing left in my savings.
Westie Rescue directed me to WestieMed to see if they would help me pay for Lillie’s surgery and they have been very kind as I had no other avenue to turn to and I did not want this precious little girl to suffer any more than she had already suffered. She was in pain and was constantly shaking her head to the point of blood.
She does not, at this point need the surgery, but the bills and future bills for Lillie could become staggering.
Honey Bun was a 4-month-old puppy who was bred in Ontario by a back yard breeder and then sold to a family when she was eight weeks old. The family quickly noticed that their new puppy was not eating well and not playing or enjoying life as a new puppy should, so they immediately brought her to the Vet.
Their Vet diagnosed her CMO (Craniomandibular Osteopathy) and they promptly returned her to the breeder asking for their money back.
Craniomandibular Osteopathy (also known as “Westie Jaw”) is a non-cancerous growth along both lower jawbones. Fortunately, CMO is treatable and puppies nearly always fully recover, however, the recovery period is long and quite painful for the puppy till their growth period is over.
The breeder reluctantly agreed to have the puppy returned to her and contacted Westies in Need for help. She asked us to take this little girl in as she was not familiar with Craniomandibular Osteopathy – as a matter of fact, had never even heard of it – and was not willing to pay the inevitable costly vet bills or put in the time to make this puppy well.
We immediately agreed to take this puppy into our rescue, but also felt very strongly that this was a good opportunity to educate her on CMO and to let her know that both the male and female Westie she used for breeding Honey Bun were carriers of this condition and should NOT be used again in her breeding program.
After much discussion and calls from our Vet, she finally agreed to surrender the mom of this little puppy to us as well. She also agreed to have the male neutered right away, but would keep him as a pet. The Mom was surrendered into our rescue four days after Honey Bun came in and is now spayed and had some badly needed dental done and is now living a wonderful new life!
WestieMed has been so incredibly generous to our rescue and we could not thank them enough.
Westies in Need is committed to making sure this little girl gets the best care possible and lives a long and healthy life and we could not do it without WestieMed!
Corrie Yeoman Westies in Need
Update November 16, 2010: Honey Bun now named Jackie
Jackie is doing extremely well. We can barely remember the frail little dog we brought back from Kingston in August. It has been amazing watching her grow in character and confidence. She has also grown physically, she is currently twelve pounds and has a healthy appetite. Chloe and her have developed a wonderful bond and I am not sure what one would do without the other. Chloe really watches out for her little sister and Jackie simply worships the ground her big sister walks on. She is fantastic on off-leash trail walks and we can’t believe how fast she has become. Chloe only has about half a Westie length on her. They run and play like crazy. She does not show much sign of the jaw pain as she did in August and September. It certainly opens more but is still a little limited. We are hoping to get her off the Metacam by next spring. We will make our final decision upon having X-Rays done in Feb- March to see how the jawbone looks. Jackie has brought a lot to our little family. In the early days of August, she did not seem to even act like a dog. Watching her grow into all her natural instincts and become the thriving little dog she now is, seems nothing short of a small miracle. When I watch her running “hot” laps around the house or yard, the catchphrase “high on life” immediately comes to mind.
Update April 12, 2011
I saw Honey Bun just a few weeks ago. We had an indoor Westie Play Day-which was so much fun-had 147 Westies come for an afternoon of fun!!! She was there with her family and she is doing great. No longer on any medication and looks PERFECT!!
A few weeks ago we had a phone call from our local shelter about a purebred Westie named Sugar, who was turned in by her owner. She was about three and a half years old, according to him, and he gave no reason for no longer wanting her. He did say, however, that he had paid a lot of money for her and, since she had not been spayed, he wanted to sell her papers to whoever adopted her from the shelter. The shelter manager told him that would not be allowed and that, furthermore, all dogs adopted from the shelter are required by law to be spayed or neutered.
We made an appointment at our vets and went to pick her up at the shelter. Her vaccines were not up to date and no heartworm preventive had been purchased for a couple of years. We were concerned that she would be heartworm-positive. And she was very thin with no flesh over her ribs.
When I arrived at the shelter the manager was walking Sugar outside on a leash. It was very obvious that Sugar was in distress as, in spite of constant squatting, she could not urinate but a few drops at a time. We realized that her medical needs were urgent. When we arrived at the vet clinic, Sugar continued to squat and this time we were able to see that her urine was bloody. Dr. Foster examined her, brought her vaccines up to date and ran a heartworm check which thankfully was negative. She also had intestinal parasites. But, she suspected bladder stones and the x-rays confirmed the presence of three very large stones which had been causing her distress and had put her life in jeopardy. She had surgery the following morning after spending the night at the clinic on IV’s. We knew she was finally in very good hands and was going to get the medical care she needed. We had asked if it would be possible to spay her at the same time as when the stones were removed and Dr. Foster said that if she could, she would but that it depended on how extensive bladder surgery was going to be.
Dr. Foster called that afternoon to say that Sugar was doing well and that she had been able to spay her at the same time. We were able to pick Sugar up the next day. She had removed three bladder stones that were as big as walnuts. She gave us two of the stones and sent one to the lab. The results came back indicating that they were struvite stones and that she had been suffering with them along with a bladder infection for several months. Her bladder was really rough from the stones and it will take a while to heal.
Sugar arrived at her foster home on pain meds and antibiotics with instructions to keep her quiet and only leash walk her. She will have to be on a prescription diet for the rest of her life and have periodic testing to be sure stones aren’t forming again. Her appetite has returned and she is finally beginning to feel a lot better!
Sweet Sugar is recovering very well and she is a wonderful happy little girl who gets along with her foster mom’s dogs. She wants to play but we are still on ‘play hold’ until she is fully healed. We do roll a ball for her to catch, but not too far, and she thinks that’s great for now.
We look forward to placing this cute little girl who deserved so much more than she got, in a home where she will be loved, can cuddle with her new family, and be properly cared for, for the rest of her life. We will be very careful to make sure that happens!
We would like to thank WestieMed for their help in enabling us to bring this little girl’s health back to where it should be. And with your help, we will be able to get the dental work done for Sugar’s gingivitis which she desperately needs!
Pam Brown
Update May 21, 2010
Sugar – WestieMed Recipient
Great news! Sugar was adopted today!
Her new mom came down from DC to meet her and we all decided it was a perfect match. Sugar will be living with 2 male Scotties.
Susan, her new mom, has a live-in housekeeper so she will seldom be without human companionship.
I’ve attached a photo of Sugar with her new mom, Susan.
Pam Brown
Update May 29, 2010: Sugar now named Marin
Hi everyone! I renamed Sugar Marin because all my “kids” are Ms — Madison (whom I lost last year), Monroe, and Morgan. Marin didn’t know her name was Sugar so she does not seem to mind. I haven’t found any words she does know, actually, including the all-time favorites: dinner, cookie, outside, sit, down, come. We had a challenging week because of this and the fact that she is quite possessive of me and not really great to my two Scottish terriers. She’s pretty aggressive with them, and they had a pretty sedate, calm life before she arrived. My oldest Scottie — Monroe — is eight and a half and a distinguished older gentleman. He’s not happy with our new addition at all and earlier this week, for the first time in his life, he somehow slipped under the fence and showed up on our neighbors’ porch, essentially saying, “I’m moving out; may I come to stay with you?” Fortunately, they called.
We had a breakthrough last night when I realized that Marin is very much like a puppy, regardless of her three and a half years. She doesn’t know any rules or have any manners, chews my fingers like a puppy, and runs wild. So, I have decided to treat her like a puppy who needs to start at the beginning with training and strict rules.
Today we had our first vet appointment; overall she’s in good shape and her gingivitis is not as bad as I thought it would be; they suggested we wait a couple of months before we put her under to get her teeth cleaned and thought that wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, she also had some white blood cells show up in her urine, so she still has a UTI or bladder infection. We have another course of antibiotics and “cranberry” pills to make that better; she does not seem in distress, however, and her previous surgeries are all healed nicely. Some other good news is that the vet thinks there’s a good chance that she does not have to be on the prescription food for her lifetime because the bladder stones were likely just from an untreated infection; we’ll keep her on the special food for a couple of months more and then re-evaluate.
It was a full day for Marin because she also had her first groomer appointment with our groomer (a lovely woman who breeds championship Scotties and used to groom the former President’s dogs — Barney and Ms. Beazley); she was patient and gentle with a nervous little girl who didn’t want her tail or feet touched. She does not look so wild anymore; she actually looks exactly like my precious Madison, which endears her to me more. She’s actually a very sweet little girl, and, although she just doesn’t know what to do, I can see that she would very much like to do the right thing and wants to be accepted.
There will be more challenges, but she is now part of our family. She has hundreds of toys to play with and gleefully dives into the toy box all the time to try them out. She has her own comfortable, safe bed in my room and has started to play in a healthy way with my youngest Morgan. She and Monroe were even chasing each other around last night; she runs like the wind. She’ll be okay.
Thank you all for your help and support.
Susan
Update September 5, 2010
I adopted Sugar (now named Marin) in May. She had severe bladder stones when her previous family gave her up, as well as gingivitis. She was on antibiotics for several months after I picked her up, but her bladder infection is all gone now, and her gingivitis is cleared up due, according to her new vet, a healthy diet. She has gained weight, which she needed.
Sugar – WestieMed Recipient
She is also settling down into her new home, and she seems very pleased to be a member of our family, which includes two Scottish Terrier brothers. They play well together and go on long walks with my housekeeper, who also takes loving care of them.
Marin is asleep on the foot of my bed as I type this evening, where she likes to sleep “bottom to bottom” with my youngest, Morgan. He only tolerates that but it’s very sweet to see.
I am attaching a photo of Marin with her new afghan, especially crocheted just for her by my sister.
Thank you for taking care of our girl before she came to us.
Susan
Sugar – WestieMed Recipient
Update April 5, 2012
WestieMed and a rescue group in Virginia saved sweet Marin’s life before she came to us, and she has been on a really healthy, happy track ever since. She has not had a health crisis in the almost two years since then. She is incredibly energetic, and she loves everybody, including her two brothers, Scottish Terriers Morgan and Monroe. She sleeps in her bed in my office while I work, and has lots of toys (which she loves) to play with.
Marin’s spirit is definitely indomitable, and we love her very much. Susan
Hello, my name is Rosie. I am about four years old and I have spent all of my life in a PA Puppy Mill. My home was a wire cage and I was used for breeding purposes only. I had very little contact with people. Due to the wire cage and poor care in the puppy mill, my feet and teeth are in terrible shape. I have had repeated infections in all my paws.
One day a very kind person from the PA AG Department came and rescued me from my poor environment. She called the MD Westie Rescue to find me a good loving home. Due to the kindness of the MD Westie Rescue, I was placed in a temporary foster home for about a month for evaluation, for medical care, and for finding me a loving family. Then some nice people found out about me and brought me home with them. I have been in their home from January 2010 to the present. My current owners are known to me as “Momma and Poppa”. They take good care of me and I have been under the care of a veterinarian who gave me multiple antibiotics and pain medications for my infections. I have been on medications since I have been living with Momma and Poppa. I had numerous surgeries (5) on all my paws. My Momma changes my dressings every other day.
When I first came to my new home, I was very timid and afraid of any human contact. My Momma and Poppa have been very patient and good to me. They give me lots of love. They take me on car rides and I can watch TV with them. I love to play outside. Now, I am much more sociable and even walk on my hind legs when I get excited.
I am restricted in what I can eat because the Vet believes I may have an allergy. I am on special dog food and allergy medication. Hopefully, this will prevent me from getting any more infections. Once my infections are under control, they will take care of my dental problems.
All this care has cost my owners, Momma and Poppa, a lot of money. Due to the wonderful people of WestieMed, they will receive financial help. Their bills total over $2,400 and climbing. I feel so much better now than I have ever felt in my life. I am beginning to trust and feel much love at my new home. I know this will be my “forever home”.
We want to thank WestieMed for all your help and support. We love our little “Rosie” and we will do all we can to make life better for her.
Thanks again and God Bless, Bill and Marge Lutz Fallston, MD
Update May 3, 2010
Basically, Rosie is doing very well, except for her two paws, one of which requires lots of care. The other three are a lot better than when we first got her last Jan. We spend ~ $260/mo. (includes a 20% discount) on her caretaking her to see our vet and having him clean out her re-occurring cysts and 4 drugs given daily. We will send you a more detailed update on Rosie when we get back from vacation in October. She is a sweet and lovable lady.
Thanks, Bill
Update April 15, 2011
Rosie – WestieMed Recipient
We had Rosie for the past sixteen months and as you can see via the attachments, she is 100% better than when we got her. She only had two flare-ups in the past six months and she recovered very nicely. As long as Rosie gets one Atropica tablet every other day is fed venison and potato dog food that we get from our Vet and wears her boots very time she go outside, her flare-ups seem to be controlled and eventually eliminated. One thing we need to do is to housebreak her. She does know how to tell us when she needs to go outside and thus she pees either on the floor or on pads. Thus, Rosie is restricted either to the kitchen or on our bed (she doesn’t mess on the bed). Rosie and our cat gets along very well — no fights. She is also good around our grandsons (ages two and four), but we need to watch them to ensure they don’t hurt her. There are times when I believe that she remembers her past, from the way she reacts when she is sleeping and having bad dreams. All-in-All, she is a wonderful pet and companion and we love her dearly. She weights ~ 22 pounds and in good health except for her allergy.
Any suggestions you may have in getting her house broken will be greatly appreciated.
We thank WestieMed for their help in getting Rosie back to good health.
Although Jack, unfortunately, lost both of his owners within the past year the remaining family saw to it that he was well taken care of and boarded him at the Vet who had taken care of him since he was a puppy. The lady that owned Jack would take trips from the nursing home to the Vet’s office to visit him as often as possible as she obviously loved him very much. She did this for as long as she was capable of making the trips. When River City Westies learned of Jack, Teresa from River City Westies contacted us and asked if we would foster Jack which we did. We fell in love with him virtually instantly and a week or so later we adopted him. Jack is eleven years old and has a zest for life! He is a very happy, loving and active Westie boy who loves to play with toys, chase tennis balls, bark at squirrels, ride in the car, interact with others and go for long walks with us, but is equally content snuggling with you on the couch and giving you kisses! He gets along great with our other adopted Westie (June) who was a rescue dog from a puppy mill. They run around like two little white bullets and play together in our fenced yard. All in all two happy Westies!!
Jack has Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) and requires a special diet and food supplement for the rest of his life. He has responded very well to this treatment, and the EPI is under control. We recently noticed that Jack seemed to be consuming a lot of water so we took him to the vet that had always taken care of him. They did a urinalysis and the results indicated his water consumption was too high for his size. The Doctor recommended that we have an ACTH test done to try and determine what the problem is. Thanks to WestieMed who is assisting us with the cost of the test we are getting it done ASAP. He is the love of our life and we want him to be healthy during his golden years. We can’t thank WestieMed enough for all they obviously have done to help Westies in need.
Thank You So Very Much, Tom & Helene Wagner
Jack – WestieMed Recipient
Update October 6, 2010
Jack is doing very well. He just had his annual physical exam at Midlothian Animal care and everything seems to be OK.
He is a happy little guy and is getting along fine with our other Westie (June) who is 5 years old and adopted also. June seems to get Anal Gland infections frequently and the Doctor suggested surgery to remove her anal sacs. Right now she is on antibiotics to see if that can clear up the infections.
We have Jack on a special diet that the Doctor recommended of Purina EN with a measured scoop of Pancrea powder plus twice daily. He is pretty active for his age of 11 years and we love him very much. So we are enjoying every minute that we spend with him.
Thank you again for your help in the past. Enclosed is a picture we took of Jack in his Halloween costume when he participated in The River City Westie Walk last week.
Thank you, Thomas Wagner
Update April 13, 2011
Jack is doing good, he just had his twelveth birthday on March 4th. I had him in the vets a few days ago and he needs to have his teeth cleaned as he has tartar on them. The vet gave us some antibiotics to give him until we can afford to get his teeth cleaned which will be probably next month. Jack won’t let me brush his teeth as I have tried several times and so has the vet he gets vicious about it so we have to get his teeth cleaned annually, the last time they had to remove three teeth that were bad so we are hoping we don’t have a repeat of that again. Other than that he is doing great.
My name is Buddy, and my story begins in September of 2009 when I ended up at the next-door neighbor’s house from my now new Mom. My owner didn’t want me anymore and decided to leave me there. They already had so many dogs that they wouldn’t let me in the house and so I stayed outside all the time. My fur was all matted and I ate only when one of the other dogs didn’t finish their dinner.
My new Mom could see that I wasn’t happy there and I was cold and shaking when the weather was bad. I also had fleas and ticks. So one day she came over and asked if she could have me. They were glad to give me to her since they couldn’t afford to feed me or get my yearly vaccinations.
Oh, life was good at my new home! I had my own bed, lots of food, a lap to lie on and new friends to play with. Only one afternoon, on November 20th a truck was driving up the driveway and I was playing with Quincy, my poodle friend while following the truck and I accidentally rolled under the truck and got hit!
Mom will tell you the rest of the story!!!
Buddy – WestieMed Recipient
Yes, Buddy could not get up, but was still alive! I took him to my vet and he was in such shock and pain that they had to sedate him heavily before taking x-rays. Buddy had broken his pelvis in many places and on his right side it had shifted upward pressing against his bladder.
Needless to say, he had to be taken to a surgical clinic to have his hips pinned and on the other leg, remove the ball from the end of his bone because the socket in the hip joint was shattered. Also the lining of his bladder needed to be repaired.
Anyway, after eleven days at the hospital, he got to come home for recovery. That was on November 30th, and now, as of December 16th, he is walking on three legs at least with every 3rd or 4th step on his other back leg. So he is doing so well despite everything he’s gone through. He’s wagging that tail and talking up a storm and it’s so nice to see him with his sense of humor back.
I can’t believe I’ve been blessed with such a warm and loving dog such as Buddy, and I thank the WestieMed organization for all their kindness and support they have giving me during this time. Buddy is a lucky dog to have survived, but I am the lucky one to have acquired such a good friend and companion. And yes, he is the lapdog of lapdogs and we love every minute of it!!
Sincerely, Paulette
Update December 31, 2009
Thank you so much and thank all the wonderful people for the check I received from WestieMed! I appreciate it so much and so does Buddy! This organization is so wonderful and so quick to respond!
Buddy is going back to the vet this morning for his checkup and they wanted to monitor his progress since he had so much damage. He’s doing quite well and is walking on one back leg, although he can move faster on just the 2 front legs… I have to hold him back using the harness so he can put some weight on the back legs to strengthen them. He is so quick though that it’s hard to keep him still, I guess that’s the Westie in him! What an attitude he has!! So loving!
Again, thank you for everything, Paulette
Update June 9, 2010
I just wanted to give you an update on Buddy who you have helped in 2009. He is doing so well! I took him to his last and final visit to the vet last week 6/3/2010 and the vet was reluctant to say that he didn’t need to see him any longer to monitor his progress. He is doing that well! They just loved him so much and took such good care of him there and Buddy just enjoyed seeing them every month for his visit.
It’s been six months since his accident and he has recovered beyond belief! Again, thank you so much for all you have done to help us. It is so nice to know you are there not only for financial support but for moral support!
Paulette
Update July 5, 2010
Buddy – WestieMed Recipient
I finally got to take some pictures of Buddy after he had a bath and a summer hair cut of course…he loves to play with his best friend Sadie, my yellow lab who is another rescue dog. Yes I know, she’s very well fed and eats like every meal is like her last one!
Buddy is doing great! He always walks on four legs and never picks that back left one up that I’ve seen for the past two weeks or so. It is a little shorter than the right one as you can see in the close-up. The pad of his foot doesn’t flatten out like the other, but that doesn’t seem to hinder him in any way, and he found out he can jump back up on the sofa and sit with me.
Buddy – WestieMed Recipient
Although, he’ll still turn around for me to pick him up the way he used to when he was injured.
It tickles me because he doesn’t want to give up that coddling that he got, and so I still hold him as I used to and he looks at me with those big eyes like he’s saying “don’t forget, I’m still your baby!”
What a doll, what can I say, he’s the best!
Thanks again for all you have done. Paulette and Buddy Wright
Update April 12, 2011
Thank you so much for inquiring about Buddy! He’s is just the joy in my life! I tell everyone he’s my $5,500 dog. Their jaw drops but he was worth every penny. I can now see how the accident happened. When he runs, he’s looking behind at who’s chasing him and not where he’s going. I’ve seen him run into walls, doors, and my other dogs…I’ve got to keep an eye on that guy…LOL. I love the way he talks!
He’s doing very well and you wouldn’t know that anything happened to him at all except his little left leg is a bit shorter, but that doesn’t slow him down at all! I will send you pictures although he hates to get his picture taken. When he sees the camera pointing at him he moves away…It’s so funny how they can sense things.
Lucy was a puppy mill dog for about the first seven years of her life and was in an “off the ground” cage north of Buffalo, NY. When she was about seven she was rescued, along with several other dogs by someone with enough money to get them. This person apparently placed Lucy with someone that bred her again. The story goes, that Lucy ignored her last litter. She was probably very tired and was then placed in another new home.
I was contacted by a woman that lives about an hour from me and said she got my name from the Beverly Rescue Group. Her name is Linda. This rescue group works with all kinds of dogs and cats and I gave them my name and number several years ago.
Linda explained that she had a friend that was in and out of the hospital and would be permanently in the hospital. She said that Lucy had been living alone in a mobile home since last February (ten months) and the owner was in the hospital more than home. There were also two cats in the trailer.
The SPCA was contacted and they would throw a bag of cheap food in the trailer every week, one for Lucy and one for the cats. Linda lived about twenty minutes away and was going over every two to three days to check on Lucy and give them water. Linda has five dogs of her own and was truly concerned about the situation. I made arrangements for the release of Lucy through Linda and went to the trailer to pick her up and give her foster care.
Immediately when I walked into the mobile home I could not believe the conditions this dog and two cats had been living in. The bags of food were broken open on the floor and there had been no one cleaning this place. Lucy was infested with fleas, no hair on her hindquarters and the top of her head. I broke open an Advantix that I brought with me (Pam and I have two male Westies) and put it on Lucy. I thanked Linda for her perseverance and drove Lucy directly to our Veterinarian, where she was diagnosed with a flea infestation, worms, bad bronchitis, and ear infections. With medication, she is now doing very well.
Additionally, she will be spayed and has a tumor on her mammary gland that will be removed and also needs extensive dental work.
It is a joy to see her progress and she actually goes up and downstairs now, she could not two weeks ago. She sleeps well and is not scratching herself anymore. Lucy gets excited and hops up and down …it’s the craziest thing.
It is so good to see her progress and how happy she is now. We have a few qualified families that may adopt her after she is through her medical issues. Her life will be great now and she deserves it.
Thanks to WestieMed. Thanks again for your help with Lucy. She is a perfect little girl.
John
Update December 31, 2009
WestieMed, thank you very much for your help with Lucy!
We “all” very much appreciate everything you have done. Lucy is now going to physical therapy to learn stairs and she is a lot better…she would not have made it through winter without all of us.
You guys are great, John and Pam Peck
Update June 28, 2010
Lucy is doing terrific and now looks like a normal Westie since her hair grew back in. She can even run now despite COPD from living with cats in the trailer! My wife has photos to send you when she returns from a trip next week. Lucy lives in a great home with our niece and her family. They love her and attend to the Queen’s every need. Please stay in touch and thank you for the financial help again, it was put to good use! John
Update April 13, 2011
Lucy had the best last year of her life with our niece Annie. Lucy was doing very well and then succumbed to cancer, without pain, dying in her “moms” lap. When she was buried, they placed a little crown on her head. She was a very sweet little dog with many medical problems including COPD. The whole family is still very sad. I also asked Anna to send you a message, I am sure she can tell you more about Lucy.
Thanks for your interest and I am sorry to be the bearer of the sad news. John
Update April 18, 2011
Lucy – WestieMed Recipient
This is Anna Wing (John Peck’s niece and Lucy’s owner). I am writing to update you with the sad news that Lucy is no longer with us.
Around the beginning of October, we noticed that Lucy was seeming to regress in progress. Up to that point, she had been doing amazingly well; she was going on mile-long walks, climbing full flights of stairs, and running around in the backyard like a puppy– all of which she was nowhere near able to do after she was first rescued. After some tests, the vet diagnosed Lucy with liver cancer, which she may have had the beginnings of when we got her, only there was no way to know until symptoms started showing up. Lucy only lasted a few weeks from the diagnosis, but she went very peacefully surrounded by her family.
I am glad to say that Lucy lived the last year of her life as the ultimate princess in our house. She enjoyed sleeping on her pink, fluffy “princess bed” in front of our fireplace, getting as many treats as she wanted, and getting to actually run around free in a real backyard. One of her favorite things to do was go exploring along the beach at our camp on the lake, where she could get into all kinds of new smells. Her instincts from being neglected were always still prevalent, and she was notorious for getting into and eating almost ANYTHING, especially the garbage!
I cannot thank WestieMed enough for allowing Lucy this final year to experience life as a loved dog should. Without your help, she never would have been able to overcome the terrible condition that she was in when John first rescued her from that trailer she was living in. We will always remember her as one of the sweetest and most appreciative dogs we have ever known.
Lilly is a one-year-old, unspayed, Westie who was born in a puppy mill situation (we believe) in a town called Sudbury, which is in northern Ontario.
She was originally going to be used for breeding however she got ill so the “breeder” advertised her in a local paper as “take her or we will put her down” A young girl, approximately 25 years old, and her father answered the ad and took Lilly when she was approximately four to five months old. The young girl was, we suspect, mentally challenged so was very unprepared and unequipped for the financial and emotional responsibility of taking care of an ill Westie, and felt the best solution was to keep her crated all day, for about six months and did not get her any Veterinary care.
Lilly’s skin and condition got worse and worse until the young girl could no longer cope and placed an ad on a website with her pitiful picture, offering her to anyone who wanted her. Very luckily, one of our Westie lovers saw the ad, contacted us and Westies in Need called the owner right away and offered assistance.
A Westies in Need family who have adopted two of our Westies (one puppy mill girl named Molly and a blind Westie named Tara) offered to make the four and half hour drive (one way) to get her for us and then turned around and drove right back to our waiting arms. We took her to our Vet that same day and her treatments began.
She is a tiny, sweet, fragile, sick little girl who has had a hard start to life, but we will make sure she gets the very best care possible from this moment on.
Westies in Need would like to thank WestieMed for all they do and for their very generous donation for Lilly’s care.
With love and thanks, Corrie Yeoman Kim McLean Directors, Westies in Need
Update January 6, 2010
To all of the wonderful folks at WestieMed, Just a quick e-mail to say thanks and thanks again for the generous donation you made to our rescue for our girl Lilly! It is so very much appreciated…we will keep you updated on her progress. Thanks!!
Corrie Director, Westies in Need
Update February 4, 2010
Lily – WestieMed Recipient
Well, it has been about six weeks now since our Lilly came into our Westies in Need rescue program and I wanted to send you all a follow-up picture and update.
When Lilly arrived she was so very sick and she was about seven pounds At the next Vet visit she went up to about seven and a half and at her last visit she was now almost eight pounds…slow but steady and we would love to see her gain a bit more.
Her fur is coming along…again slow…but a bit more every day! She was bathed three times a day for the first two weeks, then twice a day, then once a day and is now down to a bath every other day. The first few weeks she just stood there and did not move when you bathed her…now she hears the water run and she is gone!!! Too funny!!!
The biggest change we have seen (and I mean HUGE!!!!) is in her attitude. When I first got Lilly she slept about eighteen hours a day, would not run or play at all and had no life her eyes at all….well…she is now a little spitball!
This young lady has Westie-tude to spare! She barks at me if I am not quick enough with her supper, runs up and down our hall chasing my Charlotte like she is in the Indy 500, eats like there is no tomorrow, plays for hours on end with toys and is an absolute joy!
She is the sweetest, most loving and cuddly Westie I have ever known…if you let her she would live her life snuggled on your lap playing with your fingers or trying to chase your eyelashes!!! What a joy she is!
I will keep you all updated on her progress. I want to thank you all once again for your love, your support and your donations for this little girl. She had a rough start to life, but she is certainly making up for it now.
With love and thanks, Corrie Westies in Need
Update June 25, 2010
Lilly, as you know, came into the rescue on December 10th and at that time she was a mess, but she became stronger and stronger as the months went on and was even starting to grow some hair and not smelling as bad.!
Lily – WestieMed Recipient
THEN…April came and she had a small sore on her head one day (the size of my little fingernail) …in two and half days it covered almost half of her head (picture is attached) and was oozing and pussy. I thought for a moment she had flesh-eating disease….needless to say, we were off to the Vet in a minute and she was diagnosed with a severe bacterial infection that her current antibiotic was doing nothing for and Demodex Mange.
So from April till now it has been a long haul and we have kinda had to start at the beginning…she lost all her hair (damn!!!) and had, I would say, sixty small, open sores on her body from the mange.
Lily – WestieMed Recipient
She is now seeing her regular Vet as well as Steven Waisglass, a Canine Dermatologist. She went immediately on a different antibiotic and is now also on Ivermectin for the mange. She was also found to have a problem with her Thyroid (I sent all her blood work off to Jean Dodds) so she is currently on Thyroid medication as well.
I have attached some pictures for you to see…I need to take some more of her now as she is starting to improve. She is back to wearing little clothes all the time and she has to wear her back boots again as well so she does not rip her skin when she scratches.
We are back to a bath every other day with the Dermabens shampoo and then another shampoo with the Nizoral and then an oatmeal rinse and I have a Derma cool spray that I can spray on her in bad, itch spots.
Lily – WestieMed Recipient
Through all this, she is still eating and pooping well and is still the sweetest little thing. In April when she was VERY sick she was back to sleeping most of the day and very lethargic, but she has improved since then…does not sleep too much during the day and is back to playing with toys and trying very hard to play with my Charlotte, who still wants absolutely NOTHING to do with her. So funny!!! She was only 3.4 kg when she arrived in our rescue and is currently 5.6 KG now, so a good and steady improvement with her weight.
We appreciate WestieMed more than you know. Corrie and her little Westies, Charlotte and Miss Lilly
Update April 12, 2011
Lily – WestieMed Recipient
My Lilly is doing better…still not 100% which is disappointing but she is looking better. Her skin is still an issue and will probably be for all her life.
She is now seeing a holistic Vet in Toronto…she saw the canine dermatologist for months but I was unhappy as he just wanted to continue her treatment with additional drugs, so I am now on the holistic approach.
She has been on a RAW diet for a month now as well, but I have seen no improvement at all as far as her skin. Here is a picture I took of her in December! Corrie
Update January 9, 2012
I want to send you a follow-up regarding our Lilly. She was a little Westie who WestieMed helped over two years ago now. You helped me so much as well as Bette, answering all my questions – you are so knowledgeable and I could not begin to thank you enough!
Lilly continues to do well, not 100% but I doubt that she will ever be…but she is happy and a whole lot better than she was when she arrived in our rescue.
Last month we had 19 Westies come into our rescue – a very busy month but all are doing great!
A few days before Thanksgiving 2009, I received an email asking if I could help a stray that had shown up on a porch in southern Missouri. The woman requesting the help was 100% positive the dog was a wheaten Scottie but in very bad shape. She was concerned he might not make it through the night.
I requested pictures to help identity and upon receipt, I still wasn’t sure it was a Scottie but thought it was possible. One of our foster moms and I made the two-hour trip to pick up the dog, and upon arrival found an emaciated and matted Westie boy. He could barely walk; he had no upper front teeth and his front bottom teeth were worn down to loose nubs. He was scratching and underneath the mats, his skin was almost completely bare. The mats on his hind legs were so huge and barely attached that it looked like he was wearing “chaps”. With heavy hearts, we put him in the car, thinking that we were bringing him home to be euthanized.
Back in St. Louis, I backed out of the driveway after dropping the foster mom at home and looked in my rearview mirror where I saw Ralph (we had named him during the trip back) standing up, wagging his tail. With tears in my eyes, I headed to the vet’s office, dreading what might come next.
Ralph’s examination determined that he had a major bacterial infection, a possible heart murmur, luxating patellas in both back legs, slight cloudiness in both eyes, and the sweetest disposition. As the vet looked in Ralph’s eyes, Ralph rested his chin in the vet’s hand…I knew we had to do everything possible to get him healthy again.
The mats were removed, antibiotics started, shot given to control the itchiness, and Ralph went to his new foster home. On the vet’s recommendation, the heartworm testing was delayed until Ralph had some time to recuperate.
It didn’t take long to find out that Ralph had been someone’s pet at some time. He is housebroken, loves car rides, begs for food, and has decided the best place to sleep is on top of the back of the couch. He enjoys walks with his foster Scottie sister. He has gained weight, his hair is growing back, and since he was showing overall improvement, he went back to the vet’s office for his heartworm test. To our dismay, he tested positive for heartworms.
After considering the alternatives, it was decided to wait a month for Ralph to get in better health and then begin the preliminary testing to see if he could withstand the heartworm treatment. We hope to begin his treatment in January 2010.
Ralph has snuck his way into our hearts. His name has changed to Ralph Henry. We call him RH for short but then refer to him as HRH (His Royal Highness). His age is estimated at nine to ten years old and he deserves to live the rest of his life in a loving home.
He will remain in foster care until the treatment is done, and we are hoping that a door will open to a perfect “furever” home.
Many thanks to WestieMed for their help with Ralph’s veterinary bills! Vicki Frazier St. Louis Scottish Terrier Rescue
Update January 7, 2010
Ralph – WestieMed Recipient
I wanted to give a quick update on Ralph. Took him in today for blood work. We will find out tomorrow or Friday if we can proceed with the heartworm treatment. His hair is growing in pretty well. He still has an aggravated spot at the base of his tail but the vet was overall pleased with his progress. We were able to get him trimmed up (especially on his head) today and think he looks very dapper. Thanks again for your assistance,
Vicki Frazier St. Louis Scottish Terrier Rescue
Update June 26, 2010
We lost Ralph Henry on 3/9/2010. I had been to the foster mom’s home that morning and he greeted me as usual – happy and smiling. He was fine in the afternoon and greeted his foster mom the same way when she got back home from running errands. Just a little later, he threw up blood, etc……his foster mom grabbed him in her arms and ran a block up the street to her vet’s office. He passed shortly after.
He had finished the worst part of the HW treatment; received the final treatment for the baby heartworms and we thought we were home free. We were both devastated. When the foster mom called me hysterically, I drove to the vet’s office and said my goodbyes.
He truly enriched our lives and we are grateful to WestieMed for the financial aid. We console ourselves in the knowledge that he was happy and loved in the too-short time he was with us.
I received a call asking for help in fostering a group of Westies arriving from a puppy mill auction in northeast Ohio. I agreed to take one of the females. I already had two Westies at home, Tyler, eight, and Nikko, eight, also a rescue from a puppy mill in Missouri about three years ago.
As traumatized and almost catatonic as Nikko was upon his arrival three years ago, in comparison, Misty seemed alert and frightened but overall in better shape. She soon proved me wrong. I do not know what they do to these dogs in the puppy mills but it goes far beyond neglect and poor living conditions. Misty was terrified of everything and most of all people. Food was not a motivator, only safety, which can be a hard thing to use for training. Misty had delivered numerous litters and was not even four years old. She was very skinny and shaved to resemble a rat. She slowly began to relax but it has been and still is a very slow road. She is the most damaged little dog I have ever met. She always felt safest when she was up high, like on the couch or the bed. For some reason, the floor was a very terrifying place to be. With very slow and quiet movements on my part, Misty has finally begun to relax a bit. She has the cutest little run which appears more and more all the time. She runs somewhat stiff-legged as if she is a newborn colt. It is a joy to see her bounce about with that tail finally up in the air!
In October she vomited three days in a row. I was keeping a very close eye on her as their little systems dehydrate so quickly. She was still eating and drinking so I was just vigilant at that point. On the third day, I came home from work to discover she had vomited whole food again. That was followed quickly by clear liquid. Upon wiping that up I saw specks of blood. I immediately got her to my vet where he gave her something for the upset stomach and re-hydrated her. I then placed her on a bland diet. Three days later on a Saturday morning, I woke up and she vomited four times in a row, all containing blood. As my vet was out of town I went to Eastgate Animal Hospital. They were wonderful there and recommended she be admitted to their on-site hospital so they could monitor her. She only weighed eighteen pounds and had lost a whole pound in three days, very concerning.
They gave her fluids, x-rayed her and ended up doing an endoscopy and a biopsy on her. They discovered a somewhat healed over spot in her bowels that was the source of the blood. Their concern was they would find cancer or pancreatic issues. After several long days, Misty’s biopsy results came back. Everything seemed to be OK in that it appeared to be just an extremely sensitive system. Misty is now on a special, very bland diet without any other food or treats. She has regained her weight and other than an upset stomach twice seems to be doing well. She lives with only myself and my two other Westies so it is a pretty quiet and dog-friendly environment. My hope is that if it is partly nerves she will continue to relax and stay healthy!
I am so grateful to the WestieMed organization for their assistance in her medical bills. She has been a very expensive foster to rehabilitate and while I wish I could do more my resources are limited. I have never met a sweeter, more gentle soul in Misty. Westie Med has helped to ease the burden of caring for her. Thank you WestieMed for all the wonderful things you do to support the Westies out there who need us all so much!
Sincerely, Anne Huddleston
Update February 15, 2010
Misty is doing great and has gained weight and seems to be maintaining very well (she had bleeding in her intestines). Thanks again for all you do!
Anne Huddleston
Update March 5, 2010
Misty is doing great! She is thriving on her food, has packed on a few pounds and is really starting to enjoy life! She still seems to be quite damaged psychologically but is slowly learning to trust. For instance, the sofa and the bed are safe but the living room floor is a scary place and only used as a necessary and evidentially very dangerous means of travel from the sofa to my bed. So much so that she can work herself into a real panic scrambling for the sofa. If she should miss the jump the first time up onto the sofa she kind of freaks out and you would think alligators are nipping at her butt! Slow and steady wins the race… It is OK if I am on the floor but otherwise it is just a very scary place. Who knows…
She has reached that stage where she is getting a tiny bit cocky outside…sort of testing the waters. She now runs out in front of me (we are in a gated dog park) with my other little girl Tyler. They run side by side like the wind and with such abandon! My little boy Nikko slowly brings up the rear (can’t miss sniffing a thing!). It is so much fun to watch them run and play.
Anne Huddleston
Update June 30, 2010
Misty is great! I have decided to adopt her (another foster failure!). She is coming along beautifully but still a very scared little girl (she was a severe casualty of a puppy mill). She finally held my eyes while wagging her tail the other day…great progress! (We were getting ready for a walk).
She is occasionally playing with my other two and is starting to act just a little bit like a normal, trusting, content dog. It is getting better all the time, slowly but surely.
She is such a sweet, tender little soul. Just adorable little girl. She is still not ready to be adopted out (still way too scared and afraid to trust) and I think it would set her back a great deal. Since I have fallen in love with her she is now joining my pack. Heaven help me. Is this how it starts? How these rescuers end up with 14 or more???? : )
She has to stay on a special diet of horribly expensive dry and wet food ($76.00 for an #18 bag!!!) but she is responding well and has not had any more vomiting issues so fingers crossed.
I will send pics as soon as I can. She is blossoming a bit more every day. Thank you so much for your kind assistance and for caring enough to check on her.
Anne
Update April 18, 2011
It has been a long road for Misty, mostly psychologically but she is turning the bend. She remains on her very expensive diet which seems to keep her intestinal issues at peace. She eats more than the other two of my Westies yet is the skinniest, but not overly so. She has finally reached a point where she can look me in the eyes, if only for a few seconds, and has almost rolled all the way over – still not quite onto her back – for a belly rub. Trust is a very big issue with her. She becomes more secure every day and she loves nothing better than to run free in a field of grass –preferably when no one else is around but her immediate family. I believe she finally has accepted that this is her furever home and she is safe – at least with me and her brother and sister. I am still working on her feeling secure with other people although she gets lots of socialization, women remain the easiest for her to accept but a few men have actually been able to approach and pet her. She has tracheal collapse which we are controlling for the present but it worries me. She is the sweetest little girl and a joy to love!
