Angus came to Westie Rescue of Northern California (WRAP) from a northern California shelter on 12/2/2017 after several people contacted us on Facebook about him. Angus was a stray, that the shelter said was about ten years old. Angus was fairly blind only seeing some shadows with cataracts in both eyes. His dental condition was poor. He had early renal disease and was mildly anemic. In addition, he was hard of hearing and had ulcers in his eyes which were discovered later. As the WRAP volunteer was sitting in her car to leave the shelter, Angus began to throw up. That set the tone for the weeks to come. He didn’t want to eat and when he did he was sick.
Angus was very dirty and matted on arrival so he was groomed within days. He looked beautiful when done. Angus was a very good boy for the groomer.
His loving foster mother took him to the Veterinarian almost immediately (and often) to start to deal with his medical issues which were many but most importantly his nausea. Multiple labs and testing over the next months were done along with teeth cleaning. He saw three different Veterinarians (including an Ophthalmologist) over four and a half months for various issues.
Angus was a loving boy who had clearly been loved at one time. He got along well with the others dogs in the foster home and became very bonded with them and his foster mom. Angus blossomed with some love and medical care. After over four and a half months Angus was finally cleared for adoption.
Angus was adopted by his foster mother on April 20, 2018.
Thank you WestieMed for helping us provide for Angus.
Update July 2019
Angus, my little man of the house went to Rainbow Bridge on Thursday, November 1st, 2018. We knew he was going to be a tough case because he was very ill when he first came to rescue and us. In spite, of his poor beginnings, Angus was a very sweet boy, enjoying his time snuffling around in the yard, lending affection whenever and wherever he could, and enjoying his food.
We think he was about twelve but he had had a very hard life and ultimately his kidneys failed him. Though he was blind and deaf, he really did manage to get around just fine and would meet me at the door with the rest of his pup siblings.
He was a beautiful little Westie and had the most expressive tail. A great lover of cuddling, he just loved to be around others and made friends easily with the rest of my crew. I love my girl Westie dearly, but oh how those little boys break my heart every time. Angus will be greatly missed.
In early April, we were contacted by a lady that had taken in five Westies from a family member that had become ill and couldn’t care for them. When she found out the owner would not get well enough to ever be able to care for the dogs, she decided she needed to re-home them. We were told that the dogs were acquired for breeding purposes. We arranged for the arrival of the five dogs and settled them into foster homes.
We were told the dogs were all healthy and sweet. They all are definitely sweet, but right from the start, foster mom noticed that Chloe, was not well. She was very skinny, lethargic and just unwell.
She arranged for the vet to see the dogs first thing that next morning and that is when we found the extent of the problem with Chloe, a bad case of Westie Jaw known as Craniomandibular Osteopathy (CMO). They gave care instructions to the foster mom which included processing soft food with water or broth into a thick soup, which she eagerly lapped up. She was able to start gaining weight and her energy increased every day. We were referred to the specialists at the University of FL Veterinary hospital who said they had never seen this condition in such an advanced state. They advised that the best hope for this little girl was an extensive and dangerous surgery. We are very concerned about this, but we know her options are limited.
Our goal for this incredibly sweet little girl is to provide her with a more normal life that will allow her to be happy, healthy and for her to enjoy her life to the fullest.
Aggie Latyak Sunshine State Westie Rescue
Update August 14, 2019
I am not sure if the last update included the immediate aftermath of her surgery. Her condition was so far advanced that they could not free her jaws. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be in too much discomfort and she does have pain medication on hand if she should need it. The few interested parties that initially acted like they were interested in adopting her no longer expressed interest when we couldn’t correct the problem, so she is being cared for by our foster. The other thing is that she and her sister are very bonded. Foster mom decided to adopt her sister, Panda, so they could stay together. They are having a great life. Chloe loves to run outside, play in the mud and swim in the pool. Feeding time, as you can imagine, is very messy because of the way she has to eat, but foster mom has it down to a science now.
Thank you so much for helping us with our really difficult cases. Aggie Laytak
We lost our little Westie Man in December of 2017 at the age of fourteen. Our hearts were broken We went back and forth discussing if we wanted another dog or to wait. Well after a few weeks we both decided that we had a huge void in our lives without our Little Man. Nothing beats coming home from work and having the little guy coming running over with unconditional love.
My husband started tearing up the Internet looking for another Westie to rescue as we had with Westie. Yes, our little Westie was named Westie by his previous owner. In the middle of January, my husband came across Bella which was in a Rescue in New Bedford and had been surrendered by her elderly owner. The Rescue was nice enough to keep her for us as we had a trip planned in early February. The day after we got home, we rushed off to pick up our new little lady, Bella. When we picked her up she had this awful cough which we were told was being treated with medicine and she would have to be on it for life. This cough was so horrible that we called our Vet who took her two days later. We were also told by the Rescue that he felt she had been neglected and it was apparent by her not being groomed.
Our Vet thought that it was probably Kennel Cough and put her on a round of Antibiotics. After the round of medicine, it appeared that the cough had stopped and that we were out of the woods. Two weeks later we ended up rushing Bella into the local emergency hospital with severe vomiting and diarrhea along with some shivering. I became very concerned as she was also lethargic and just seemed to be slipping very quickly. Even after only four weeks, this little girl had already grabbed my heart.
After three days in the hospital, we were able to bring her home and start from scratch again. Bella came to us underweight and very timid. We had basically gone back to the start again. We went for our follow-up with our own Vet after the hospitalization and the cough was back again. Our Vet had us resume the heart meds and referred us to an internist. The Internist found after an EKG that Bella’s heart was not pumping properly and referred us to a cardiologist.
As I write our story tonight, it is after her cardiology appointment today with still some unanswered questions. At this point, Bella is being treated for Chronic Degenerative Valvular Disease with further testing ahead of us We just want Bella to be healthy and happy. Over the last two months, Bella has become the little lovebug and just can’t get close enough to you. After just eight weeks, Bella has stolen both of our hearts and we will continue to get Bella the best treatment that we can.
Thanks to WestieMed, it will assist us to go a little further with Bella.
My two sons are 21 and almost 19. They are fine young men growing up and pursuing their lives. As such, it left me and my husband with more alone time than we were prepared for. I found myself feeling like another dog, a Westie, would help fill the void.
We already have one Westie boy, Harley, whom we rescued almost ten years ago from Westie/Cairn Terrier Rescue of SW Ohio. He is the apple of our eyes and we thought a new addition would be nice for our family.
Enter Chloe. She’s such a boisterous little lady, who captured our hearts right away. The boys love her and she loves them. More than anything, Chloe is a “daddy’s girl”. She follows my husband around the house constantly. I am her back up, parent.
We are lucky enough to know her prior story before coming to Rescue or to us. Her owners were an older couple. They were advancing in age and health problems. The Mrs. was becoming increasingly allergic to Chloe. They had to make the difficult decision to rehome her. I had just called Carla from the rescue and told her to keep an eye out for another Westie. A week later we get a call saying she had a Westie for us to look at.
We picked up Chloe on February 24th and all of us fell in love with this silly girl who captured our hearts with her sweet face and her antics. There was much to do to help her to adjust to her new home. That first evening, however, I noticed her left eye was not looking quite right. That very first night, we took her to the vet to have a look. The vet told us she thought it was a possible cyst and referred us to an animal ophthalmologist.
Two weeks later we saw the specialist and were given the bad news. Chloe has cancer in her left eye and it is not just a small spot but a large one and the docs are unable to “repair” it to keep her vision; they can only take the eye out. I was devastated to think of my little girl losing her eye. However, the doc tells us that dogs are way more adept at changes like this than humans. In fact, he thinks she has not been seeing very well, if at all, with the left eye-so this won’t be a huge change for her. All four of us were so overwhelmed that we were in such a whirlwind after just getting Chloe.
I am so glad that WestieMed is helping us with her surgery and we don’t have to worry about all the finances of this. We can help our new little Westie girl recover and adjust to her new normal with all the love we can give her.
My husband and I knew that we wanted to get a dog as soon as we had a house. So, in September of 2017, after we’d settled into our home, we began searching for our furbaby. Our search took us to a high-traffic, high-kill shelter in Newark, NJ. We were immediately taken in by a little white face. His name, according to the cage, was Travis, and when we took him outside he was calm, gentle, and a great walker on the leash. We knew he was the one. We had to wait until his stray hold was up, but when it was, we went back immediately and filled out the paperwork and waited for them to have him neutered. We added “Sir” to his name because we knew we were going to treat him like nobility!
We brought Sir Travis home that Friday night. He had been in the shelter all week awaiting his neutering, but he kept being rescheduled, and we couldn’t let him languish there any longer. He was curious about his new surroundings, but never seemed nervous or scared. He took to my husband immediately, giving him kisses and following him around. However, we knew something was wrong when he kept shaking his head. We knew we had to take him to the vet in the morning.
Saturday was awful. After a mix-up at a local vet’s office, we wound up at a clinic with a crowded waiting room and a long wait. A few hours after arriving, we got the awful news: not only was he older than we’d been told, but his ears had large growths, one of his testicles was enlarged due to a tumor, and his skin was infected. We were also told he was deaf. This particular veterinarian advised us to bring him back to the shelter and to reconsider if we wanted to invest so much money in an older dog.
We went home absolutely devastated. Even though we’d only had him for a day, we were in love, and our sweet little dog with so much love and gratitude deserved so much more. We resolved to do whatever we could to help him and to seek a second opinion, and whatever the outcome, we were going to show him as much love as we could.
The veterinarian we saw on Monday confirmed the initial diagnosis: he was likely closer to ten years old, and indeed his ears, testicles and skin were in bad shape. However, this vet saw his potential. We started a treatment plan to tackle his immediate problems: multiple ear infections (bacterial, fungal, and yeast), a fungal skin infection, and a very sensitive stomach. The goal was to get him strong enough for surgery to take care of his larger issues.
September was a very challenging month, with many setbacks. Travis wound up with stomach infections, likely untreated from the shelter, resulting in diarrhea and frequent vomiting. At one point, he needed to be hospitalized overnight because he couldn’t keep anything down. We feared for the worst, but he bounced back. His ear infections also proved difficult to treat, and he needed multiple medications to get rid of them. Slowly, though, he gained some weight, grew back his fur, and showed signs of overall improvement. He settled into our home seamlessly, quickly claiming his spot on the couch! Even the vet was surprised by how well he was doing with the treatment. He underwent surgery in early October to be neutered and to remove the largest growths in his ears and the excess skin around his testicular tumor. He made it through with flying colors.
In the months since his surgery, Sir Travis has continued to thrive. His fur is thick and full now, and his stomach issues have resolved, perhaps in part due to no longer being in constant pain and discomfort. We still have to flush his ears each week to keep recurring infections at bay, and he is still almost completely deaf. But looking at him now, you’d never know what he’s has been through. Through it all, he’s been the sweetest, gentlest soul. Even with the constant medical procedures, he’s never shown anything but love, trust, and infinite patience. We’ve learned so much from him, and are looking forward to a lot more time with him!
As a pair of teachers, taking on a surprise special needs dog has been financially daunting for us, but we are incredibly grateful to everyone at WestieMed for helping us with the costs associated with Travis’ treatment and surgery! Your generous grant will help us continue to manage his care and give him the best life we possibly can.
Last year we lost our precious Westie girl, Lexie. She was ten when we adopted her. It’s because of Lexie we fell in love with senior Westies.
Shortly after Lexie’s passing, we contacted Rachel Phelps with Preston Cares Network inquiring about another Westie. Rachel informed us that she had a ten-year-old female Westie named Molly who had been surrendered by a breeder from Kentucky. Rachel was very upfront with us about Molly having some health issues. Molly was heartworm positive when she was surrendered and had just completed heartworm treatment. The treatment was very rough on her. Poor Molly also had a very large Inguinal Hernia that needed to be repaired and the poor girl still needed to be spayed.
The lady who surrendered Molly said she only bred her a couple of times, however, I find that hard to believe considering the size of the hernia. I also believe Molly spent many hours, days, weeks locked in a wire kennel. Her teeth are worn down to the gum line, more than likely from trying to chew her way out.
I truly believe Molly had a terrible life in her first nine years. Molly is the sweetest dog. She loves to cuddle, go on car rides and go for walks. She has a few health issues and has made many trips to the Veterinarian and to a specialty hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.
We made a promise to Molly that we will take care of her and make her last years of life amazing. Molly now has a mom and dad, an eleven-year-old human brother, Aiden who adores her. Along with a fourteen-year-old Westie brother Bernie, a thirteen-year-old Westie sister Heidi. Molly is also loved and protected by two more brothers, three-legged six-year-old Australian Shepherd mix Snickers and eight-month-old Great Pyrenees named Sammie (Molly actually keeps him inline).
We all love Molly so much and will always give her what she needs and deserves.
Thank you WestieMed and the Kandy Merric Memorial Fund for helping make it easier to provide Molly with the best medical care possible.
Mattie age eleven years (born 11/30/2006) came into rescue on 1/20/2018 with her nine-year-old sister, Jackie. Their human mother had died the previous Monday after a long illness. The family, at a loss for what to do, put the dogs in a kennel.
The dogs were picked up by Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California (WRAP) who transported them directly to a veterinarian, in as much as they needed all their shots. Prior medical records indicated that neither girl had any medical issues in the past two years but shots were needed. Mattie was able to receive her shots and heartworm test (which was negative) that day. The girls went to a prearranged adoptive home that evening. It was clear within twenty-four hours both girls were sick. Mattie began throwing up and both girls had diarrhea. Mattie was the sicker of the two and was very thin appearing.
On 1/21/2018 Mattie was taken to the veterinarian. Mattie was thin and we all (adopters, rescue and vet), wanted to try to figure out what was causing her illness. Mattie had blood work done. The vet wanted the girls on a chicken and rice diet to see if that would settle Mattie’s nausea and diarrhea. The diet was unsuccessful and symptoms persisted. Blood work on Mattie indicated some slight elevations but nothing definitive. The vet recommended a urine culture that did show an e-coli infection that was treated. The vet recommended gastrointestinal food and prescribed medications. The vet also wanted an abdominal x-ray to see if there was any obvious issues that might relate to Mattie’s thinness. Nausea and diarrhea cleared up quickly with the gastrointestinal food and medications. On 2/3/2018 the x-ray was done. There were no significant issues found. The vet felt that stress might be a factor in Mattie’s illness. Mattie was also treated for an eye infection.
From the start, it was clear that both the girls had very poor dental care. Their breath was bad and the plaque and tartar was very bad. The teeth desperately needed cleaning and may have been contributing to Mattie’s illness. Mattie’s teeth were cleaned on 2/22/2018. She had six extractions. Mattie is now doing very well in her adoptive forever home with her sister.
Thank you to WestieMed for all their support and assistance in helping rescues to care for sick Westies.
Barbara Mordy Westie Rescue and Placement of Northern California (WRAP)
Chevy was owner surrendered to Westie Rescue of Western PA a couple of days after Christmas 2017 when he became jealous of a new baby.
I was made aware that Chevy needed to go to the vet right away because he was sick. He was urinating blood and had blood in feces. We also became aware that Chevy needed all vaccinations and neutering. The meds were immediately given, but neutering would be done when he was healthy. We also had blood work done, urine analysis and feces tested. It revealed that Chevy had a urine infection, ear infection, allergies, and Lyme disease. After the vet visit, his world would begin with love and attention. Westie Rescue of Western PA covered all the costs for the vet visits and meds.
I find Chevy to be a very sweet and loving Westie. He loves to snuggle next to me on the couch, with his head on my lap. He follows me everywhere. He loves when I scratch his head or rub his belly.
I can tell he is happy – happy to be part of a family who cares for him with meals, treats and meds. He just wants to be loved by a person. Unfortunately, Chevy does not play with toys, except when he wants to crunch a water bottle.
Currently, Chevy has someone interested in adopting him. But, Chevy needs to have surgery for a luxating patella. We contacted WestieMed and applied for help to cover the surgery. Thankfully WestieMed will pay for the surgery. Westie Rescue of Western PA is extremely grateful.
We know the future for Chevy is bright, with the help of people who love our sweet Westies unconditionally.
Linda Martino
Update February 9, 2018
Westie Rescue of Western PA wants to thank you all so much for the generous donation towards the medical expenses for our rescue Chevy. The surgery of Chevy was successful and he is on the road to recovery. We truly appreciate your compassion and empathy for our little white dogs.
Linda Martino Westie Rescue of Western Pennsylvania
Update July 11, 2018
Chevy is doing great. The new owners took him to the vet recently and he got a clean bill of health.
The new owners said they would send pictures, still waiting. I will send you a picture when I get one.
Many, many thanks to you all in helping Chevy. Will keep in touch.Linda Martino
Update July 21, 2018
Chevy – WestieMed Recipient January 2018
Chevre is an eight-year-old rescue West Highland White Terrier who was previously called Chevy. He was kept in a crate for a minimum of eight hours a day plus all night on weekdays. On weekends, he was kept in a crate six hours a day plus all night.
In addition, his previous owners did not protect him from fleas and tics; as a result, he got Lyme disease. He required a leg operation due to the damage caused by Lyme disease.
Westie Rescue paid for his operation and it was a complete success. He went to our vet on July 3rd and got a clean health report. He now goes everywhere with us, including some restaurants.
He is a dear, sweet, little boy who sleeps in our bed and loves his freedom. Chevy is our 2nd rescue.
Addie’s rescue story began in April 2016 near Memphis, TN. Her former owner finally did the right thing and surrendered Addie to Westie Rescue, Tennessee.
Addie was a very malnourished 11 lbs and almost hairless with lesions all over her skin. She had been living in horrible conditions for the entirety of her first six years of life. Having been fed table scraps with little to no outside access and no clean indoor space. Her foster mom tells us that Addie had almost no muscle mass and could not even jump onto the couch. She was afraid of not getting another meal. It took endless love and patience from her foster family for eighteen months before they even considered that she might be ready for adoption.
That’s when we discovered her on Petfinder.com fell right in love! We have a fourteen and half year old Scottie who was missing his former Westie friend, Fiona (a prior WestieMed grantee) who passed in July 2017. Addie’s foster mom Sandy brought her over to our house. Our Scottie and Addie got along right away and Addie stole our hearts.
On our first visit to the doctor with Addie in November, we were advised that she had skin and ear infections. We are still treating those. We’ve sent out for cultures on both to be able to treat those in a more targeted fashion. We tested for low Thyroid, and Addison’s which came back negative, but with very high chances of Cushing’s. We’re still waiting for those results.
Addie – WestieMed Recipient
We know she may not grow back much, if any, of her hair. We just want to make sure she gets into a good place where her skin and ears are no longer infected and causing her pain.
She’s such a Westie girl! She loves to chase and dig after anything in her yard. She has a blast jumping onto the boulders in our backyard to get a better view of said varmints and she loves to torture her brother Jack every chance she can!
Thanks to all involved in her rescue and for those whose support today allow us to get her the care she deserves.
The first picture of Addie was taken the day she was surrendered. The photo of her with muddy paws was taken last Sunday.
Wendy Eubank
Update March 1, 2018
Addie is doing well. She does have Cushings, we are beginning treatment for that as well as getting her started on allergy drops.
We look forward to being able to give back to WestieMed.
Best Wishes, Wendy and Lonnie Eubank
Update July 9, 2018
Addie – WestieMed Recipient
Firstly, we want to thank you all again for giving us a big help in Addie’s continued medical treatment.
Months ago, Addie’s skin was dry, blotchy, flaky, crusty, etc. and it caused her to do a lot of scratching and chewing. With the combination of medicines, medicated baths, and diet, within the last month, her exposed skin has finally become soft and smooth, and she only has a couple of hot spots on her front legs. It’s a huge improvement! We know that she will most likely never grow hair back, but that’s okay with us. We think she’s adorable, and as long as she’s comfortable and happy, we’re happy. Plus, it’s an excuse to keep her covered in plaid in cooler weather! For the summer she has on a UPF t-shirt so she won’t get burned.
Addie was diagnosed with Cushing’s, for this, she is on Vetoryl once daily. She has been ricocheting from skin infections to ear infections, but they seem to be subsiding. She takes two Apoquel a day, and one Atopica once daily. She went through blood allergy testing (her skin could not handle the skin testing) at Blue Pearl Veterinary Specialists and is on a customized a serum twice a day. She’s on a wheat gluten-free diet and we add salmon oil to her food. She gets weekly double-medicated-shampoo baths. And recently, it was determined that she has dry eye, so she receives two eye drops twice daily.
She lets none of the above slow her down! She is a 200% Westie girl – chasing squirrels and rabbits daily. This weekend she discovered frogs! As she starts to feel better the more open she becomes to playing with her new brother, four yr old Scottie Logan. We hope to keep her conditions under control and hopefully, more improvements will come with that.
In September I was web surfing and found the Rescue Westies of Missouri site. I filled out an application of interest, since a month before we had lost our previous Westie “Cutty” to cancer, and were missing our little boy. My wife and I had decided we would never have another dog because it was so painful to lose them. Then I received an immediate response that our application was received, but there were not dogs available. I had mentioned in the application we had spent thousands on our precious little boy, because of a congenital heart condition, and we were not ready to handle another Westie with significant issues. I received a Facebook post of an abused dog that found a forever home, with the caption, “you can’t change the world, but you can change the world for someone”.
Approximately ten minutes after being told there were no dogs available, we received the first picture of JuJu in the cage, sadly we were to find out that she was significantly better in that picture, then when she was found. My wife and I looked at her, and after we quit crying at the sad shape she was in, we called and talked to Sue Hon about this rescue. The hope was she would get better, may grow hair, but was deaf, and there was no one interested in her.
We told her it would be a week before we could drive across Missouri to see her. We set up a time and one week later got to meet JuJu. The rest is history, she was ours, and we promised to change her world, she cuddled up to us and seemed to say, OK let’s go home.
JuJu – WestieMed Grant Recipient
We have had our little girl for two months, the second picture shows her love to watch her iPad, and relax on the porch.
She has had multiple vet visits, medications, and special food. She was referred to a Dermatologist after there was minimal improvement, on a closer exam, and, skin, tissue, and hair analysis, a new care plan was developed.
It will be a long road for her, at least a year of medications, three times a week shots, special shampoo baths, and a strict special food diet. BUT the good news is she is showing some improvement, all open areas of skin are closed and healed, she seems happy with us, and is completely comfortable taking over the entire king-sized bed we sleep in.
Our lives are better because she is in it, our first Christmas will be special. Life is what happens after we make our plans, next year will she have hair, be beautiful, and forget what had happened to her, I don’t know the future but she knows we are hers and we love her.
David
Update June 2018
JuJu – WestieMed Recipient
It is good to hear from you, and that you remember our little girl JuJu. It has been a long struggle with some successes, since October when we adopted her. I think the best way to say it is, two steps forward and one step backward. She continues to get significant swelling in her feet, she has one spot on each foot and the base of her tail that she will attack and still chew and lick raw. She continues to get recurring ear infections.
Now the good news, she is down to just weekly allergy shots, they had hoped it would be only every other week, or be done with shots by now. They are thinking she will never be able to stop them. We are transitioning her into nonprescription food, god love her she is so spoiled with daily deli-sliced meat and scrambled eggs, we joke that when it is time to start, the hair/coat diet she will turn her nose up at it. The positive side is that digestive wise she tolerates the change. All her skin cultures are returning negative, which means all the yeast, staph, MRSA infections are gone, and all her skin is intact with no open areas. Her ear infections are less frequent and she actually had periods when both ears are clear and healthy.
The Dermatologist and the two vets that care for her, feel that her allergies are what continues to be the underlying problem, and it may a full year of the continued treatment and shots before it is completely under control.
Her hair has filled out well on top and neck, and portions of each leg and feet have filled out some, but her belly remains pretty bald, with little fuzz developing, they are not sure due to the skin damage if she will ever get hair in those areas. We have the most incredible dog groomer that hand trims her, to make her look as much like a Westie as possible.
Being deaf, she can’t hear when we tell her how much we love her, but she does allow us on our king-sized bed at night and she has learned to share our pillows with us. She loves to go on walks, has developed a friendship with a neighbor Westie (Phoebe) and a Corgi (Wally). She finally has started to smile from time to time and not have such a sad look as she did for so long. She will let you hug and hold her for hours on end if she has finished her napping. When we take care of the grandkids when they are ill she always sits by them and watches over them the whole time they are here.
The Dermatologist thanks us for being so diligent with her. She claims to be putting her daughter through college on our fees, always happy to support higher education. We are blessed that all the people working with her are as caring and concerned for her as we are. Truly we had hoped she would be this beautiful healthy white Westie by now, but that dream is still some time in the future.
