Millie is a precious little five-year-old former breeding female who came to WRT as part of a commercial breeder surrender transport. Even with all of the afflictions she came to us with (i.e., a severe ear infection, paw infection, skin infection, hook and whipworms, dental disease and severe yeast in her ears and paws), she still managed to wag her little tail and seemed instantly so grateful for being out of the hell she’d been subjected to for the first five years of her life. Of the four who came us to on this transport, she has socialized at her foster home the quickest and easiest.
She, along with the others, spent many days at the vet’s office, just getting enough daily meds into her system so she would be healthy enough to move on to a foster home.
Millicent – WestieMed Recipient
Her foster mom reports she is doing so very well, and they are happy to keep her as long as it takes for us to match her up with the best possible furever home. She interacts very well with the family’s other Westie (one of our adoptees) and the other Spaniel mix. She also gets along with the family cat, which is a plus! She loves to play in the yard with the other dogs and kids but is just as content to be held in one’s lap for hours-on-end.
The bottom line is that Westie Rescue of Tennessee, with the generous help of WestieMed, gave this precious little girl a second chance. We are so very grateful for WestieMed’s generosity.
Update March 4, 2010
Our sweet Millie is doing fine and we love her very much. George and Linda Driese
Izzy came to Westie Rescue of TN on a volunteer rescue transport in late January. It was freezing cold and the wind was howling the night she was taken out of the cargo van and put into my car. She was in a cage stacked ceiling-high in the cramped van. It was so full because the rescue angel was trying to get as many dogs as she could out of their horrible living conditions. She still had an all-night drive ahead of her to deliver the various breeds of little dogs that did not yet realize that their lives were about to change. They were off to different rescues in several cities.
Izzy was in my car with six other dogs, including three other Westies. They got as far back in the crates as they could. They backed into the corners and trembled when we would reach in to touch them. They didn’t understand what the warm blankets and soft towels in the crates were. None of them cried none of them fussed, none of them dared to complain about the bitter cold during the time it took us to locate them in the cargo rescue van and transfer to my car. It took a while because Izzy and the other Westies were almost unrecognizable as Westies. There are no words to describe the filthy, disgusting shape they were in. Even though the wind chill factor was in the teens, we drove the 225 miles back home with the back window vents on my SUV open. The urine that permeated the inside of the car burned our eyes so strongly that we had no choice. Windows down, heat blasting. The little dogs had lived in their own urine for so long, it had become a part of them. Each one of them had a blank look in their eyes that I will never forget. I had to look hard to find Izzy’s little eyes. They were covered by so much dirty, matted hair.
Isabella – WestieMed Recipient
I would later learn that she suffered from severe dry eyes that had never been treated. The worst-case the vet had ever seen. Imagine your eyes hurting and burning and scratching for four or five long years and not being able to tell anyone. Not that anyone, where she came from, would have cared. Because of not being treated, she suffered eye damage and will now have a vision impairment that can never be healed. She will need eye drops every day for the rest of her life to ease her discomfort. She also had infections in both eyes. Both of her dewclaws were so long that they had embedded into her skin. I can only imagine how it must have hurt to walk. She had infections and yeast on all of her feet and between her pads. She had an infection in both ears. Places on her skin were infected from pure filth more than likely. She had hook and whipworms. She had a urinary tract infection. Her little mouth was in horrible shape. She had severe dental disease and had to have teeth pulled. A week after arriving at the vet, Izzy had to have surgery for bladder stones. Izzy was so traumatized that I began to wonder if there was even a little Westie left in that tired and mistreated body. If only there were some way to show the people that go to the pet shops what is left behind when the puppy truck pulls out to make deliveries. All they see are the cute little clean puppies. They never see the broken, tired and dirty little bodies that make those puppies possible because they are forced to. They never look into the breeding dog’s face and see the pain and long-suffering.
Izzy stayed with the vet for two weeks. She received all kinds of medicine for her many infections throughout her little body. Imagine how wonderful it must have felt for her eyes not to itch and hurt. Even though it was uncomfortable for a little bit, it soon felt better to walk without the sharp nails grown into her skin. Her mouth began to heal and her appetite picked up. She had her spay surgery and was on her way to better health. Soon Izzy was off to her foster home. When we arrived there, Izzy stood perfectly still in the driveway. She didn’t dare move. She did not understand the open space, the feeling of not being confined. She was afraid of the unknown–freedom. Her little foster host Westie ran around her to welcome her to their home. Izzy just stared straight ahead and shook. Her sweet foster Mom walked over and took her into her arms and welcomed Izzy into a safe world for the first time in her life.
Isabella – WestieMed Recipient
Izzy continues to blossom and heal, both physically and mentally. She patiently waits at her wonderful foster home for the family that will take her into their home and makes her theirs forever.
Thanks to WestieMed, our rescue did not go into the red after taking in these four sweet Westies. We did not have to temporarily shut down our rescue while we paid off our over $3,000.00 debt and then try to start over. Thanks to WestieMed, we are able to continue to move forward with our determination stronger than ever. Bette Heidorn, WestieMed and all the wonderful people there are inspirations to us. It is their heart’s desire to help heal every little Westie that they possibly can. WestieMed makes a difference in countless little Westie lives every single day. The dogs they affect move on through life bringing joy and companionship for many, many people. If Westies could talk, I am sure they would sing the praises of this wonderful organization. I know a little girl named Izzy that would be in the front row of that choir!
Ian spent the first five years of his life in a small pen or cage except when he was needed for breeding purposes. He was used up and thrown away basically. When we got him he was so terrified of humans that he got in the back of the large crate and shook in the corner. The next morning at the vet, we literally had to turn the hard shell crate up on its end and shake him out of it. Ian stayed at the vet for days. He was immediately shaved and cleaned up with several baths that day. They were able to leave a little hair around his face. Ian had ear infections, skin infections, paw infections, worms and a urinary tract infection so severe that he was urinating blood. He also had severe dental problems. Ian was given several kinds of meds for his infections and other ailments. He was given a complete dental and had some teeth extracted. He was neutered. Ian now has a clean bill of health. His first real experience with freedom was when I picked him up. I brought him home in the large hard shell crate. We picked up the crate and took it in with him inside. When Ian saw a human, he saw mistreatment. He was terrified of me. It broke my heart. In order to gain his trust, I never reached in and snatched or forced him out, because that is what was probably done to him by his breeders. I would open the crate door and sit down in front of it and lean up against the wall about two feet away. I would speak softly to him and plead with him to come out. He stood in the center of the crate and shook so violently that the wire metal door on the front of the crate jingled from his shaking. His little eyes had a blankness to them that made me determined to find the little Westie that was in there somewhere. Every couple of minutes, I would slowly reach my hand in and touch the top of his head. He would cower and flinch each time. It took me about thirty minutes to get him to come to the edge of the crate door. He was afraid to step out because a lot of breeding dogs are punished severely forever trying to get out of their cages. It takes some of them a long time to be able to walk through a doorway in their new homes. I continued to touch his head and whisper to him. I could tell in his little eyes that he wanted so desperately to try out this new thing, but his fear would not allow him to. Finally, after petting his head and then retreating away from him over and over again, he saw that it wasn’t a trick to be able to get my hands on him and inflict some sort of pain. He began to trust me just a tiny bit and I knew that I had won the first battle. Each time it would take me about thirty minutes to get him to come to the edge and then I would pet him and praise him and offer him treats. He didn’t know what a treat was. I would put it up to his mouth and he didn’t know how to take food from my hand. If I laid it down in front of the crate, he would gingerly step out with one front paw, eat the treat off the floor and then wait to see what I did next. After about three days, I brought him up and introduced him to the three female Westies here. They got along beautifully. Ian began to watch them and do what they did. He would see them go to the always full food bowl and eat. After they finished, he would saunter over and look around as if to say “are you sure this is ok to do?”. He began to eat with them, he learned how to interact with them very quickly. It took about ten days for him to walk through the door to go out onto the deck. Before that, I would pick him up and take him out. He doesn’t like to be picked up just yet. He is still afraid. He doesn’t fuss or struggle, but his little body tenses up. I can tell he is afraid he is going to fall. He didn’t know what a toy was. The first time he walked up to a tennis ball on the deck and poked it with his nose, it rolled and scared him to death. I began to pick it up and gently roll it toward him and he would watch it and jump around so funny. Now he rips and tears up and down the deck chasing it. He gets it in his mouth and prances with it. He loves to be petted. He stays right at my feet. He now loves to wrestle and play with the other dogs and is a very loving little guy. He is like a stocky little linebacker and solid muscle. He has grown into a happy little Westie boy.
Ian – WestieMed Recipient
Ian has come a long way on his road towards understanding freedom and is a pleasure to have here. I will miss him very much when he is adopted. Ian is still very fragile as far as his ability to just take everyone at face value and relax and enjoy his life. He is getting there, but not there yet. He needs a loving owner to help him complete that journey. Ian is a one-person dog right now and I’m sure will grow into being around groups of people, but he needs his special person to cling to in this transitional stage of his life.
One reason Ian has progressed so well is his health. Thanks in part to WestieMed, his poor health issues were taken care of. Ian feels great for the first time in a long time is my guess. He is healthy and has a newfound desire to focus on learning how to be a pet and part of a family. It is such a day to day blessing to watch his little face as he discovers life outside of a cage. Ian is a work in progress and WestieMed is a large part of his progress. Thank you WestieMed for helping little Ian feel well enough to march into his new life!
Ian – WestieMed Recipient
Update March 29, 2008
I wanted to let you know that Ian went to his new home today.
I think Ian and his new owner are a great match.
But I am sure going to miss him. When I wasn’t looking, he stole my heart!
Thanks, Sherry
Update January 1, 2009: Ian now called Duffy
I thought you might be interested in an update on Duffy. It’s now been seven months since Duffy moved in with me. You would not believe the difference in this little guy. Completely gone is the hesitant, shaking terrified little furball. Duffy looks at each new adventure in his life with great interest and curiosity. He is completely over his fear of men and will greet and like the hand of a strange man with relish. He loves to ride in the car and often travels with me. He has been to the Big Apple twice and really enjoys hotel living. Suits him just fine.
It took several months for him to return the affection I lavished on him. Everything changed when I had to go to Colorado and Wyoming in late August for a two-week business trip. He stayed at home with someone taking care of him. Upon my return, he was visibly shocked to see me and hurled himself straight at me. Since then, he has decided he cannot stand being on the floor if I am on the couch; he wants to be on my lap or against my side or even on my chest. Each return home after a trip has knocked down more of his reserve until now he gets so excited he cannot contain himself. Of course, I can see in his expression that he wonders why he didn’t get to go along.
When I work on the weekends, Duffy comes with me. He has a special place in my office that he alone owns. For me, I have found the dog who loves squeak toys. Actually, he is beyond obsessive about them. I think this may be his one vice and I plan to consult with a behaviorist in the new year.
He has slimmed down and muscled up from long walks around the neighborhood and I let him choose the path each day. We began obedience training in the fall and he did remarkably well. I plan to continue with advanced training sometime in the spring.
He loves to chase squirrels and rabbits. Squirrels baffle him because he hasn’t figured out he should look UP in the tree to see where they’ve gone. He keeps racing around the base of the tree trying to find the little escape artist.
Honestly, this little pooch was the absolute best choice for me. It was worth the 1200 miles I drove that weekend to get him.
BTW, we did march in the Scottish Walk parade in Alexandria, VA. There were over 100 other Westies and all were rescues. He wasn’t the least bit bothered by the bagpipes, drums or black powder muskets being fired. I put a plaid scarf on him and he had a blast.
Happy New Year. Keep up the great work with Westies. Kate
Mackenzie is a shy, scared little five-year-old former breeding male who came to WRT as part of a commercial breeder surrender transport. Mackenzie had multiple health and social problems (i.e. severely infected ears, skin infection, infected paws, yeast in his ears and paws, hook and whipworms, broken teeth and severe dental disease). While his health has improved, and he is gaining some much-needed weight, he still is not progressing very much socially. His new foster parents are working diligently and lovingly with him. It’s just going to take a long time to get this fella out of his shell.
MacKenzie – WestieMed Recipient
We believe that because of the help from WestieMed coupled with the outpouring of compassion and care, Mackenzie will one day be a very content little soul. He will probably never be very out-going. It could be that too much mental and physical abuse was heaped on him. We want his new home to be a very quiet environment without any children; preferably with an older, retired couple. He’s a ways from being adoption-ready, but he’s well on his way, and thankfully, his health seems to be very good now.
Thank you WestieMed for helping Westie Rescue of Tennessee give this precious little dog a second chance at a good life!
Update March 5, 2010
MacKenzie – WestieMed Recipient
There is so much I could tell you about Mackenzie and the progress he has made since we got him on 5/17/08 but I’m afraid I’ll run out of email room. The first week we had him I was really afraid I had made a huge mistake because all he did was cower in his travel crate and tremble. After a few days, I told my husband “you know, he’s lived all his life in a cage, so the crate is going”! We bought him his first bed and put his toys in it — that was the first positive step. Every day I pick him up (at least a dozen times), pet him and tell him how much I love him. He now has two baskets full of toys and you should see him looking in each basket and picking out a toy — just like a little toddler. From time to time his favorite ball will roll under a piece of furniture and he barks (a certain bark) so I will retrieve it for him.
He is so very smart! I wish I could have gotten him when he was eight weeks old because I could have taught him so many little things. On March 19, 2009, my husband brought home a six-year-old female Westie named Lilly. Her elderly mom was no longer able to care for her and just wanted a good home for Lilly. A few days later I was giving her a treat and told her to “sit pretty” and she did. I turned to Mackenzie and told him to sit pretty and he reared back on his hind legs and put his little front paws up for his treat — just like he had been doing it all his life. He and Lilly get along so well and you should see them in the mornings together — so happy to see each other.
Mackenzie has learned to snuggle and cuddle and is slowly but surely getting over his fear of riding in a vehicle but I think Lilly has helped him there because she loves to ride! He also knows how to cop a real attitude and pouts when he doesn’t get his way (which is not very often).
Mackenzie is the light of my life and I pray that all the other rescued babies are as happy as he is.
