April 2006:
Hi, I would like to introduce myself, my name, while I was up for adoption, was Nathan, and I was dropped off from my owners at the vet. I guess they didn’t want me anymore. I am a full Westie with a great attitude and was supposed to be ten months old. I went to a rescue agency and was up for adoption for only one day when they found the perfect family for me.
My new mom works with the Illinois-Missouri Westie Rescue so she knows first hand what to expect from a terrier. My family had lost a four-legged member, and the youngest boy was looking for someone to cuddle with at night – and the best part was SO WAS I!!
When I arrived at my new home I was so excited to see that I have two sisters that are Westies too!! My first morning I met my boys and they loved me right off the bat. How could they not? I know I’m cute. The boys decided to name me Yu-Gi after their favorite TV show. My boy is the youngest. His name is Tanner and we cuddled together my first night.
I adjusted well but started getting ill, I wasn’t eating and was throwing up. I couldn’t even keep water down and just felt awful, but I still continued to cuddle with my boy. By the beginning of the third day, my mom called the vet, and they wanted me to see the doctor immediately! My mom left her work on the spot and took me to the vet where they kept me to figure what was going on.
Mom then got the call from the vet – I had tested positive for parvo and was very dehydrated and tender to the touch on my belly. My doctor told my mom that I needed to stay at the vet’s until I was able to hold food down and that they were going to treat me aggressively because I was in pretty bad shape. They also found out that I was only four to six, not ten months. They had to keep me in quarantine also. I wasn’t scared though, I knew I was in good hands, but they didn’t understand, I just wanted my boy back.
The next day they found I had eaten through my IV. It hurt my leg, but they said it was ok, and they put another one in. My mom came to see me that day, and we had to sit together in a private room since they said I had “germs.” My mom also brought a squeaky toy from my boy, and I was SOOO excited about that.
The doctor called my mom at the end of that day and said I was such a strong puppy, was holding food down, and I could come home that night. My mom arrived, and the doctor said he couldn’t believe how tough of a pup I was and that I responded so quickly to everything. He just didn’t understand I needed to get back home to my boy Tanner!
Currently, I am doing fine. I go back for a check-up next week, but I play and chew up everything I can. I will cuddle with my boy and have learned to stand on my back legs and wave with my front paws for him. Life is great now. I don’t remember what my other home was like, but I do know that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here with my sisters and my boys.
Thanks to all that helped me find my home.
Love, Yu-Gi Ludwig and Family
Update March 2007:
HI, it’s Yu-Gi!
Wow, so much has gone on in the past year. Life here in Independence, Missouri, is GOOD. I love my two four-legged sisters. I kinda have to be the man of the house since, well, I am “the man.” My boy Tanner said I was named after his favorite show but informed me that Yu-Gi is the Pharaoh. WOW, I am royalty. But that is how I get treated around here.
I love my two boys Trey and Tanner. They spoil me rotten. I get to climb up in their bunk beds and sleep with them. They say I keep them warm since I am so fluffy. I have been told that I am very cute and different looking. I guess I am only half Westie and they think the other half is chow so that is why I am so fluffy, but it works for me. I have even gone on sleepovers with my mom’s friends cause they say I am so cute. WOW, sleepovers are cool.
I love to ride in the car and we all went to see the Christmas lights together that was way cool.
I am pretty smart too, I have learned how to sit on my backside and wave, I can give high-fives and I sneeze on command. The best one is I have to wake my mom up in the morning cause she is always hitting the snooze button so I have learned to pound my paw on her bed to wake her up when the alarm goes off. But then again I am the Pharaoh. The best part is I haven’t been sick ever again, and since I can learn some cool tricks to entertain my family I reckon I have no long-lasting problems. I have even been in charge of watching over some foster friends here at the house. My mom works for the Illinois-Missouri Westie Rescue and it is a tough job babysitting.
Well, to all the four-legged friends out there still waiting for help and new homes, hang in there and don’t give up. To those two-legged people out there, thanks for all the help and giving me the life we all deserve, best wishes, and keep up helping.
Peace out…. Yu-Gi Ludwig