Curtis

by westiemed in Stories

While browsing online postings of dogs in shelters, I noticed a shaggy Westie in a small community shelter and reached out to the director. They told me that he was on hold for his owner, who was known to shelter staff because the dog had been in their care several times before. Ten days later, the director reached out to me to ask if we would still be able to help the dog… they had contacted his owner multiple times, but the owner never came to get him.

We wasted no time in sending a volunteer to pick him up and getting him started at our vet, where we learned he was heartworm positive and has a heart murmur. He badly needed a good grooming, although he was missing hair and had crusty skin due to infection and fleas, and his nails were so long that they curled up like the toes on an elf. Both of his ears were infected and sensitive to touch, and he had severe tartar buildup on his teeth.

Curtis took everything in stride… he has been very friendly to vet staff and volunteers and happily greets everyone with a wagging tail. We started treating his skin and ear infections and scheduled an appointment with the cardiologist before planning his neuter and dental cleaning. When the cardiologist gave the go-ahead, Curtis was neutered and had some masses removed as well as his teeth cleaned. We also started pretreatment for the heart worm and scheduled full adulticide treatment to get rid of them.

Now that he has finished heartworm treatment, Curtis is ready for adoption to his furever home. His fosters have fallen in love with him (and him with them!) so he will be finalizing his adoption and staying home for Christmas. Turns out his owner not reclaiming him was the start of the best life for him!

Thank you, WestieMed, for helping us make his new life possible.

Kind regards,

Westie and Scottie Rescue Houston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ginny and Georgia

by westiemed in Stories

In August, our rescue was contacted by a breeder who regularly surrenders Westies to us. This time, it was about two female Westie puppies with heart murmurs. We quickly accepted them into our rescue and placed them in a loving foster home. We named them Ginny and Georgia!

We work closely with a trusted veterinarian for all heart-related concerns, so we promptly took the girls in for an evaluation. The vet noted that their murmurs were quite severe—graded 4/5—and that Ginny was already showing signs of early-stage heart failure. They were immediately prescribed medication. She recommended a referral to a specialized cardiology vet who might be able to perform surgery.

Unfortunately, at their specialty appointment, both puppies were diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis, ventricular septal defects (VSD), arrhythmias, thickening of the heart walls, and several other cardiac abnormalities.

The specialist informed us that surgery was not an option. He explained that the prognosis was poor—most likely, the girls have about a year to live, if that. Due to the severity of their arrhythmias, they will likely pass suddenly in the coming months. Unfortunately Ginny has already had one cardiac episode where she became unresponsive, but has since had no other episodes & is completely back to her normal self.

The vet reached out to the Colorado State Veterinary Teaching Hospital for further input. They recommended trying beta blockers to reduce the workload on the heart, followed by a recheck in two months to assess for any improvement. However, they also emphasized that the prognosis would likely remain unchanged.

Ginny and Georgia are currently thriving in their foster home. They have been deemed forever fosters, so the foster will keep them until they pass. Their foster parents are showering them with love and making every moment count—letting them live happy, joyful lives as playful puppies for however long they have left with us.

These girls have captured the hearts of everyone who meets them. We are so incredibly grateful to WestieMed for helping us with their medical expenses. Your support means the world to us.

With heartfelt thanks,

The Oklahoma Westie Rescue Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie

by westiemed in Stories

This sweet lady lost her human and as a result lost her home.  She was living in an assisted living facility, and unfortunately, her health was deteriorating and no one stepped in.  Her human passed away so the family contacted us.  Maggie is 12.8  years old and is currently being treated for her yeasty skin, fungal and bacterial infections.  Her ears are infected as well and she has a 4/6 heart murmur.  She is receiving medicated baths and had a full work up with our vet last week.  She also had a cardio work up because there was some concern with her going under anesthesia for an upcoming dental but her results came in pretty darn good for a gal her age.  Just one year ago, Maggie was 22 lbs and came to us at 14 lbs.  She is grossly underweight but we’ve already managed to get her to gain 2 lbs!  She will need time in foster care to get her back to her beautiful self. She is a perfect girl for her baths and loves to go on short walks despite her very arthritic knees.  Considering all she’s been through, she is a very sweet dog that wants to please.

Karen Simondet, WROC

Update January 12, 2026:

Maggie has officially become a forever foster with WROC, and she is thriving in the loving care of her wonderful foster mom, Wendy.  Wendy is doing an amazing job looking after Maggie day-to-day, while WROC continues to cover all of her medical and cardiology needs.  Maggie’s beautiful coat has grown in fully, and although she’s had a few minor set backs (as is common with many of these previously neglected skin cases), we’re staying right on top of her care to ensure her issues never get out of control again.

Maggie is loving her new chapter in life!  She enjoys outings into the city, has met and absolutely adores many children along the way, and is truly living the good, happy life she so deserves with Wendy by her side.

Thank you WestieMed!  Your generosity and kindness make stories like hers possible.

Karen Simondet

Dilly

by westiemed in Stories, Uncategorized

Dilly’s story is a sure a strange one, but she ended up in the right place!

Dilly is not her original name…. we’re not sure what that was.  She was called “Dilly” because she looked like an armadillo.  When she was rescued, the poor girl had only a few tufts of hair. The rest of her skin was black and wrinkled. The skin on her front legs was so inflamed and swollen, it folded over onto itself.  She was surrendered by people who could not take care of her.  This was certainly evident.  We were told Dilly was 10-12 years old.  

Dilly came my way after she did not fit in with her foster home.  All the attempts, adjustments, and tricks that we know didn’t allow for a peaceful household.  She joined my crew of two male Westies in October 2021.  I’m not going to say she fit right in…. but what female Westie does anything peacefully?  It turns out she was not spayed, and to say she was boy crazy is an understatement.  Luckily, within a month she was healthy enough to have the surgery.  

Dilly had a bad case of atopic dermatitis, along with a heart murmur, fractured teeth, ear and eye infections, and did I mention she was boy crazy?  Our first trip to a vet was very helpful. Within a few days she had stopped her constant scratching, which let her focus more on, well, boys.  

We addressed each ailment in order of severity, all along giving many Nizoral baths and cold laser therapy treatments for her skin issues.  (I love Westie Rescue of Orange County’s skin protocol, it’s worked wonders in the past).  Within a month she was able to receive a rabies vaccine. The vet thought she was so medically compromised a vaccine would not be able to produce an immune response at all during the first visit.  

She is a pistol. She is very smart and ornery. If she is 10-12 years old, she was a handful as a puppy. She is full of Westitude and very affectionate. We’re very grateful to WestieMed for help with her medical bills. Sometimes you don’t know what life will throw at you, but I’m very glad Dilly landed here.

Jen

Update December 14, 2021:

When Dilly was strong enough for surgery, two veterinarians both thought she was not spayed. No scar, no tattoos, (although her skin remained so dark and mottled, it was hard to tell). Spay surgery was a go until the docs found she had already been spayed. That surgery quickly became a dental checkup and Dilly had SEVEN teeth pulled. You would never know from her eating abilities before or after the extractions that anything was amiss. Her skin has settled down which means fewer baths. Throughout all her vet visits, her ears remained flat out “gooey”. We finally had the germs her ears cultured to find out exactly what kind of medicine would be best.

Dilly insists she is no ‘run of the mill’ Westie, and therefore apparently needs ‘special’ everything. As she healed, we moved down the hierarchy of medical needs. Next were her eyes. I knew she had poor vision, as she ran into things, but seemed to adapt quickly to her surroundings. For once, the ophthalmologist said there was hope her eyes would improve! Years of dry eyes had scarred the corneas, but with special drops (again…special) her vision should get better. She is sure patient to get 2 types of eyedrops twice a day. Did I mention special ear drops? And hypoallergenic food? Some would say high maintenance, but Dilly insists she’s just “special”. She sure is!

Jen

Tinkerbell

by westiemed in Stories

We received a text from Tink’s owner asking to surrender her to rescue because they could no longer care for her.  This little girl just turned 5 last week and had been suffering for quite some time.  Her itch is so intense that she received 3 baths in less than 24 hours of receiving her and was whisked off to our vet the very next day.   Tink has a severe case of Malassezia dermatitis which is why her skin resembles elephant’s skin.  Her ears are swollen shut, her nails were considerably overgrown, she has a heart murmur and is in need of a dental.  Poor Tink is not spayed and was bred with the owner’s other dog.  We will spay her once we get her skin under control.   Her initial vet bill was extraordinarily costly and we will incur more cost once she gets her dental and spay.

This little girl is as cute as a button and so sweet and gentle.  She has a long road of recovery and we are so thankful we have her now.  She needed us and with the help from WestieMed, this little nugget will get everything she needs.  We are committed to her health and happiness.

Karen Simondet and Kay DeLoach, WROC

Update October 28, 2021:

Tink has been in rescue for three months now and we’ve made quite a bit of progress. Her fungal and yeast infections have been eradicated, though we are still dealing with three types of bacteria. We’ve pushed out her spay and dental procedures because we do not want to do a surgery with bacteria on the skin. She is still receiving her medicated baths, every other day. The biggest change is in her personality. Though very sweet and quiet from the start, Tink has a bit of a wild side and loves to play! Now that she is feeling so much better, she exudes confidence that every little girl should own!

Karen

Update March 1, 2022:

It has been six months since Tinkerbell came to WROC and we’ve held off getting her dental and spay surgery done due to her persistent bacterial infection. However, during her recent checkup, several palpable mammary masses were discovered, so we bit the bullet and proceeded with surgery and sent out for biopsy. The good news is that the mammary tumors were benign. There was quite a bit of bleeding and her abdomen filled with fluid, so we continued with warm compresses several times a day. Turns out the surgery was the easy part. Tink suffers from Epidermal Dysplasia and though management of this condition is possible, curing it is considered impossible. Since we are unable to bathe her until her stitches come out, Tink has taken a step backward so we are doing everything we can to help control the itching until we can bathe her again. We must remain diligent in treating her to ensure long term comfort which is costly. We are so thankful to WestieMed for helping us accomplish this! In true Westie fashion, keeping Tink quiet has been a challenge! Nothing seems to phase this little girl. She is tough, resilient and lives every day to the fullest.

Karen – WROC

Update September 28, 2022

I can’t believe it’s been a year already! Tinkerbell just had her 3 month follow-up with the dermatologist specialist and though she is doing well, Dr. Werner thinks there is room for improvement. She has grown hair in her chest area, something I did not think was possible! It is sparse, but nevertheless it is an improvement. We will continue to administer 25 mg Atopica once daily, 1/4 tablet Ketoconazole 200 mg and we added 250 mg Terbinafine daily. If we don’t see a change with the Terbinafine, then we will change her anti-yeast treatment to Itraconazole. She has also been on a hydrolyzed diet this past year which is mainly for her irritable bowel disease but this also aids with her skin issues. As a last resort, the next step is allergy testing in order to formulate allergens for immunotherapy. She continues to get two medicated baths a week.

She is comfortable, happy and continues to keep Dewey in check. What a difference a year can make!

Karen

Fiona - WestieMed Recipient

Fiona

by westiemed in Stories

December 2020

Fiona was found in North Carolina and taken to an animal shelter. Due to her poor condition, she was taken to a veterinary hospital, where she stayed for a week.

During this time, no one contacted the shelter and no owners were identified. After their specified hold time, she was released to Westie Rescue Southeast for further care. She was found to be deaf, anemic, malnourished and with a heart murmur.

I adopted Fiona on 11/22/20. I was in Maryland at the time, caring for my sister after she had surgery. As Fiona’s foster family was in North Carolina, we met in Virginia for the handoff. Fiona remained with me at my sister’s home for the week. She got along fine with other animals, mostly steering clear of them.

On the afternoon of Thanksgiving, 11/26/20, she fell down 4-5 carpeted stairs she had been able to traverse without difficulty on prior days. She remained sitting very still at the bottom of the steps. I did not witness the fall. I picked her up and she would not allow me to touch her back right leg, screaming when I tried to do so. She held it up and was non weightbearing.

I immediately took her to an emergency animal hospital in Rockville, Maryland. She was found to have a nondisplaced fractured right tibia. There was concern that her bradycardia (found to be 70-90s at the vet office, but during prior exams had been as low as 40), would require caution with sedation to splint/cast the leg.

My plan was to return home to Ohio the next day. To minimize risk of complications, Fiona was discharged without splinting and with pain medications to return to Ohio on 11/27/20 (Friday). I contacted my vet in Cincinnati, but they could not accommodate sedating her and proper monitoring that day, so I chose to take her to an emergency vet in Cincinnati. Upon reviewing the xrays from the vet in Rockville, this vet found concern that a bone tumor may be present, as the result of the fall seemed more traumatic than the described fall. (As I said, I did not witness the fall, but another person did, they felt Fiona was started and fell).

After more xrays, any bone abnormality was ruled out and the leg was placed in a splint. Fiona’s prognosis is good for a full recovery of her leg. Limited activity is easy to maintain, as she continues to recover from her general deconditioned state she was found in. Fiona’s leg is expected to heal in 6-8 weeks.

Jen Hosler

Update May 25, 2021:

Fiona and I are very thankful for WestieMed. After being rescued by Westie Rescue Southeast, she underwent an amazing transformation. What was barely recognizable as a Westie is in now a beautiful girl. She had a major setback with a broken leg and that’s when WestieMed saved the day.

Now she has regained her position as a grumpy old lady full of Westietude and is ruling the roost over the two hoodlums that live here, Rudy and Sparky.  

Thank you to WestieMed.

Jen Hosler

Update November 11, 2021:

Awww. Fiona died in July. She had come so far and her little leg healed well. She stopped eating and was in pain….could not rest comfortably. It’s never easy no matter how many times you go through it.
Jen