Bandi is a 14 year old Westie gentleman, who never had the life a Westie supposed to have.
He was found in 2020 on the streets of Eger, Hungary in a very bad state. The local shelter knew him already, as he was wondering around many times. Previously he had a better life (maybe), but when a newborn came to the family, he was given to the grandmother, who obviously did not gave a damn. This time he was so dirty, so weak and hurt, that they immediately contacted us. Together we achieved that the owners give him to our care. In Hungary, the legal procedures of animal protection are quite complicated, so this was the fastest way to have Bandi and help him.
We took him to our vet immediately. He had holes in his back area (under the tails), worms were coming out from the wounds, we have never seen anything like it. He had a papilloma on his eyelids, hurting him all the time. He could barely walk due to a previous injury and he was underweight. He was very kind and grateful for the care, he knew that his life will change from now.
First we started to take care of the wounds, he got antibiotics and immune boosters. Obviously it needed time, but they healed very well. When he was strong enough for his first surgery, we had his eye fixed. Thanks to the great care, he took anesthesia without any problems. Then he had a couple of months break before we had the orthopedic surgery to remove a fractured femoral head. He had some complications afterwards, seemed that some nervous problem, but with proper medication we could make his status better. He regularly have physiotherapy treatments since then. The last surgery after a another break was neutering. We did not want to put him through another trauma, but he had a tumor in his testicles and we wanted to make his life as long and as healthy as possible. So he had 3 surgeries within a year, which is quite a lot in his age, but he recovered well.
Bandi found his furever home with the lady who took care of her during the rehabilitation. He is now living the ideal senior life, having his own bed, yummy food and a mom, who cares for him and will love him until his last heartbeat will come.
Thank you WestieMed that you made this happen and helped us make Bandi such a happy guy.
Bandi was adopted by his foster carer, as they passed so many time together during the rehabilitation, that he became a true family member. We took him regularly to phisiotherapy afterwards as well, so his legs and walking improved a lot.
He became a real sofa-dog, he enjoyed it a lot and he went regularly for big walks with his boxer-brother. Despite the fact that he was quite aged, he was perfectly housebroken, he learned the daily routines well and was a wonder to all who met him. He was such a lovely boy. And why I am speaking in past time…. After 6 months of happiness he became ill fast, his liver stopped functioning from one day to another. Unfortunately, even he got treatment asap, his little body couldn’t hold on anymore.
We are happy that we could give him this time, see him happy and living without pain.
Thank you again for your support, it meant a lot to Bandi.
We had adopted four senior westies in the past few years. The rescue we work with knows our love of the older dogs so I wasn’t surprised that they approached us. Lily had come from a medical neglect situation and was a loving little girl. She was having some issues adjusting to other female dogs in her foster home. Since we had two males and a soft spot for the seniors it was a perfect fit. The only catch was we were fostering a five-year-old terrier mix at the time and four dogs are quite the challenge. But the rescue volunteers had a plan! They had a family for our foster and said they could bring Lily to us the same day. Some people might think it’s crazy to “trade” a healthy young dog for an older dog with issues but it always felt natural to us. Lily was funny and independent but didn’t mind telling you when she wanted to be loved or left alone. In our experience seniors tend to adjust faster in their new homes. It’s almost like they just can’t help being themselves right away and aren’t worried about pleasing owners or fitting in. Their age gives them a pass to do as they please and you as the human learn to adapt to what they need, which we did with Lily. She liked to sleep in. She wanted treats when she came inside. She wanted to walk out the door by herself and not be carried and absolutely had to sit in your lap in the car. Being able to work from home due to the COVID restrictions meant I could spend all day with her. I will forever be grateful for our time. Her issues started small. During the months as we tried to get to the root cause, we made sure she was medicated enough to not be in pain but still had a wonderful quality of life. She swam in the ocean and rode in her wagon to the top of a mountain for the sunset. Even after she had to have her eye removed she would turn her head to make sure she could see you when she wanted to beg for whatever food you were eating. We found time for fun even though the vet visits were almost weekly. I hate to think how she would have suffered in her previous home where she wasn’t getting the care she needed. Thankfully she had every opportunity to get better and was surrounded by love, every day. I’m so proud of our strong, brave girl. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Lily last week. We really did try everything we could. In the end, she wasn’t responding to antibiotics and the doctor found a tumor that had grown rapidly behind where her eye had been. She had become a sad little girl in the final three days and it wasn’t fair to make her hold on.
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
Westie Rescue SouthEast was alerted about Lily from a Veterinarian’s office when she was brought in by a good Samaritan when the owner would not. It was noticed that her eyes were swollen while pet sitting. The vet office contacted Westie Rescue in the event the owner agreed to surrender the dog.
Upon the owner’s return, the sitter mentioned that Lily needed to go to the vet, and was told, “if you think she needs to go, then you take her.” This person graciously did take her in and paid out of pocket. The owners subsequently agreed to release Lily into our care, but not the other dog living in the home. We hope that eventually, we will be able to help this dog as well.
It was found that Lily had abscessed teeth which were causing the swelling and subsequent rupture under both eyes. There were infections and pain. She was treated with antibiotics and pain medication.
Once we had transport in place, Lily was picked up and transported to our foster home and was immediately seen by the local Vet for assessment. We were told she would need at least six teeth removed, and the remaining teeth would be cleaned. It was also discovered that she had a growth on her side that would need removed as well and possibly biopsied. (When the surgery was done, they did feel like a biopsy was in the best interest of Lily).
Lily is doing well post-surgery in her foster home and is a sweet and loving 14-year-old senior lady. We eagerly await the results of the biopsy and hope that Lily can live a happy, pain-free life in her golden years.
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.
Max entered foster care in August 2013. Max, seven, was surrendered due to his owner having health problems that caused her to be placed in a nursing home. Max was left in her apartment for a month prior to being surrendered to Westie Rescue Michigan. Max was confused and lonely.
Due to the owner’s health problems, Max’s vet care was inconsistent. When he entered foster care he had atopic dermatitis, and skin, dual-ear and eye infections. He was also diagnosed with dry eye syndrome. He needed all of his vaccinations and dental. He also demonstrated a fear response and was emotionally shut down.
He required a lot of medication and care in order to resolve these medical issues. Just when his ears cleared of the ulcers, narrowed ear canal and infections, two tumors were located in Max’s ears. He underwent surgery to have these removed. They were benign.
A week after the tumors were removed from the ear, Max’s anal gland ruptured. It was determined that he had an infection and it finally ruptured. He was immediately placed on antibiotics.
The next week he ruptured his ACL on his back leg. He underwent surgery and is recovering very well. During this time he went through a dog training class and graduated.
Max is one of the most resilient foster dogs I have ever fostered. It has been a wonderful experience to see him start acting like a dog. Initially, he kept his tail between his legs and would growl when trying to hook him up to a leash. Today, he wags his tail and holds the leash in his mouth. He is excited about going for rides in the car and going for walks. His hearing returned and his eyesight is much improved. He can see a rabbit from quite a distance.
With the gracious help from WestieMed, Max was able to have his ACL surgery and has a wonderful chance of being adopted into a perfect home for him.
Julie
Update July 14, 2015
I regret to inform you that Max passed away. He was doing very well but the vet believes Max had a heart attack. Max lived with me for two years and died suddenly. Thanks to your organization, the last two years of his life were the best. He could play and run around the yard. He was a very happy and loving dog.
I miss him very much. He was very special. I thank WestieMed for helping me give him a good two years.
I am with The Blue Bonnet Yorkshire Terrier Club Rescue, which serves the North Texas area. While picking up a Yorkie around Christmas, I saw a happy Westie carrot tail, frantically trying to get my attention at the Dallas Animal Services Shelter.
This poor ten pound Westie had no chance of adoption and had used up most of her 72-hour hold because she has an enormous tumor coming from the back of her neck and hanging over one shoulder.
With a tail that worked so well and happy eyes, I knew she had to get out of the shelter quickly, so “Benet” came to the Yorkie Rescue.
The first tumor removed from her neck weighed two pounds. Once that was off, we realized there were still two more large tumors that were obscured by the first one. One was 10 cm., per the pathology report.
These large tumors were sent to a pathologist and found to be a very rare type called a “Trichoepithilioma”.
Bernet – WestieMed Grant Recipient
Released of the burden of wearing very large tumors around, little Benet has blossomed into a fun-loving, tennis ball chasing girl.
Originally, I thought she would remain at the rescue, in hospice care. I now realize that it is ridiculous to think of her as a sick dog.
She is very deserving of a new family and will contribute a great deal of joy and kisses to the mix.
I will follow up with you when she starts the next chapter of her life.
Sweet little Kate came to Westie Rescue Southeast in October 2010. Our friends at the Tuscaloosa, AL Animal Shelter called to tell us of a little Westie girl that needed a rescue to take her in. Kate had been dropped off there with another family pet. The owner explained that she “just couldn’t deal with them any longer!”
Kate had some food aggression with other dogs, even though she would let a human reach down while she was eating and remove her food bowl with no problems. She also had a small growth that was hardly noticeable unless you looked very closely at her front upper gums. WRSE took Kate to the vet for her exam, tests and then had her altered. The vet didn’t think the little growth was anything to be concerned about and it certainly did not detract from Kate’s beautiful little face or cause her any discomfort.
Kate was almost adopted several times; however, her food aggression with other pets always seemed to rule her out with one family after another. It was determined that Kate should be an only pet in order to give her a better chance at happiness in a forever home. After five months, a wonderful home in South Carolina was found for Kate. A retired couple with no other pets and no children in the home had seen Kate on Petfinder and contacted WRSE about her. They drove to Nashville to meet Kate and she bonded with them immediately. She had never been as calm as she was in her new Dad’s lap!
Kate had not returned to the vet because there had been no reason to. She was in great health, had a great appetite and wasn’t due for any vaccinations for several months. As with most new pet owners, Kate’s Mom and Dad took her to their vet for a little visit the week after they adopted her. The news was not good. Kate’s little growth on her upper front gums had spread quickly into the roof of her mouth and around the back of her front teeth and was very fast-growing and invasive. Her new parents were falling more in love with her every day but were not up to the emotional or financial demands of what was now being called an aggressive tumor. After less than a week of furever home bliss little Kate was coming back to WRSE. We immediately had a wedge biopsy done before Kate left SC and thankfully it came back negative for cancer. Once back in Nashville, Kate was seen by our vet and he referred her to a veterinary surgeon.
Thanks to WestieMed, we were able to have Kate’s fast-spreading, invasive mouth tumor removed. The surgery also required six of her teeth to be removed, however, the surgeon was able to work around her K-9s (fang teeth). Kate was an excellent patient, all of the massive tumors was removed and her surgeon feels that it will not return.
WRSE has had quite a few very sick dogs and dogs needing extensive surgery during this past year. Our very young, although very active, rescue group was running on empty as far as funding for another expensive medical need. Being able to turn to a very special group of people that have hearts full of love and helping hands when it comes to Westies was what WRSE and little Kate needed. Thanks to this caring group of Westie lovers, Kate is on the road to complete recovery and will be looking over some new adoption applications in a couple of weeks! Kate will soon be adopted and begin a very happy and healthy new life! She will be able to do so because of the generosity of WestieMed.
Sherry Moore Westie Rescue Southeast
Update July 13, 2012
Kate is living a wonderful life in Ohio. She sends messages by e-mail! It did not take her long to train her people. She has told me of training her Dad to sit on the floor in front of the recliner when she is in the mood to really “stretch out” in their recliner! Kate is very loving, and also very smart!
Hi… It’s Katie Thomas… apparently today is a holiday in Loveland, OH – it’s “Lucky Dog Day – 7/11”, which is great ‘cause it’s also one year ago today that I found “him and her”. A lot has happened since then, almost all of it revolving around walks and belly-rubs and playing — I’ve been very busy. My people seem much happier than they did when I first met them… I take full credit for that, ‘cause as you see I have “Westietude”! So have a big bowl of nibbles on me to celebrate the holiday.
Love and thanks, Katie Thomas
Thanks so much to everyone at WestieMed for helping Katie and allowing her to move on to adoption. Katie’s surgery was a huge success and she is now the center of her owner’s world! She is loving every minute of it and her wonderful world was made possible by WestieMed generosity. WestieMed Rocks!
My name is Lillie and my story (for my new family) begins around May 5, 2008. That’s the day I landed myself in the Warrenton County Mo pound. I was traveling with my beagle buddy and we wound up in some nice lady’s yard. She called Lori the ACO to come and get us so we wouldn’t get hurt. I was actually pretty lucky. Lori is a nice ACO and she does a great job of finding us new homes.
My mom saw me on Petfinder the third day at the pound. Lori said she had to wait two or three more days and if no one came for me she would be first on the list. The next Tuesday on July 11th mom drove the sixty-mile to and get me. She never told dad or the boys that I was coming home. It was a surprise. When she came to the pound she looked like an OK lady so I thought what the heck, I’ll give her a try.
I was on my best behavior. I acted like I had known her for twenty years. I jumped right in the car and sat in the front seat all the way home. When we got to my new house there was a great big obnoxious dog they called Del Fuego. He instantly loved me because of my fabulous personality and award-winning looks, however, I hated him. I tried to chew his face off. Lori had told mom that I was not dog aggressive – haha I just wanted out of there so, I pulled a fast one on her. Anyway, to make a long story short, that obnoxious Del Fuego would never take no for an answer and now we are best friends. He never leaves me for a minute
Life was pretty good here but after a few days, mom saw that I had a cough and she took me to the dogtor and they said kennel cough. They put me on medicine and it never got better. This is where my story becomes very scary. I started having very strange spells. I would start to eat and drink very fast and then I would throw up. My eyes would glaze over and I would start to fall down. My heart would beat so fast and I was so hot and then I would start to freeze and my heart would go so slow that I couldn’t breathe. Mom rushed me to the emergency room the first time and they told her pneumonia. They gave me fluids and antibiotics and I started to feel better. I was feeling good for about a week and then the big crash as mom calls it. I started coughing again on Monday but nothing too alarming. Colin stayed home with me (he’s my new boy) and I seemed fine. On Tuesday Colin had a ballgame so I had to go into the crate for a couple of hours. When mom came home two hours later she found me cold and barely breathing. She scooped me up and drove straight to the emergency room.
I was dying. The dogtor told mom my body was shutting down. My heartbeat was 41 and I wasn’t going to make it much longer. They started me on fluids and heart medication but nothing worked. Mom sat with me until 8 AM and then she took me to my regular vet. They kept me for three days. Fluids, heart meds, broncho-dilators I was full of tubes and I couldn’t eat. I was so tired. I didn’t even pay any attention to anyone around me until my dad came to see me. I rolled over and the techs got me out of the crate and dad carried me to out to go potty. They said it was a good sign. I came home after three long days. In the meantime mom was frantic. She sent out an SOS on a Westie Rescue site and the next thing you know nice people were letting her know that help was out there.
Ms. Bette from WestieMed contacted mom and told her to take me to see the Cardiologist at VSS in Manchester. Dr. Marshall was a very nice lady. She put me on a thirty-day event monitor to watch my heart. I am also now on Thyroid medication twice a day. My Thyroid panel came back as virtually nonfunctioning. Mom was so happy to hear Thyroid meds because this would be easy and now we were finally getting somewhere. After seven dogtors and all that poking and prodding, you would think they could figure it out.
My dogtor bills were over $2,000 dollars. My cardiologist’s visit was $747.00 all by itself. WestieMed came to the rescue and got me to the Cardiologist. Today I am feeling pretty good. I get a little better each day. Mom says I’m about 90%. I’m eating and drinking and I’m getting back my fabulous personality. Throughout all of this, Del Fuego never left my side. He slept by me and watched over every day. He was very anxious and depressed when I was in the hospital. Mom said she thought he would need Prozac. I will have a new Thyroid panel in another week and hopefully, all I will need is a couple of pills per day for the rest of my life. Mom says this is “no problem”.
Lillie continues to do a little better every day. Unfortunately, her thyroid panel showed that her Thyroid Stimulating Hormone was also nonexistent along with the other two factors. The two specialists at VSS feel that this could be due to a tumor growing on her Pituitary Gland and the pressure inside her head is causing her to have atypical seizures. This is only a guess and cannot be confirmed without a CT scan. If she indeed does have a tumor, nothing can be done about it.
We are giving her thyroid meds and pretending that the bad news email never came. If she has another spell it will most likely kill her but, at least she will be at home with us and not on some road or in a ditch somewhere.
No one ever came to look for her. She had no tags or collar. It was very apparent that she had been cared for. She was fed, groomed, potty trained and spayed. Maybe someone knew something wasn’t right and they chose not to deal with it. It doesn’t matter now. We love her and she’s ours forever. She now has a mom & dad two boys and her own dog Del Fuego. My son Colin named her Lillie Mc Gee after Willie Mc Gee the 80’s St. Louis Cardinal. He wasn’t very good looking but he was an awesome ballplayer. Well, our Lillie sure isn’t show quality but, she’s’ a heck of a dog!!!!! We call her GEE GEE.
Thanks to WestieMed and the IL MO Westie Rescue. I appreciate all of the support and Emails that I have received from everyone. It’s nice to know that you all are out there.
Sincerely, Stacy, Richard, Nick, Colin, Del Fuego, and the Fabulous Miss Lillie
Update September 21, 2008
I just wanted to let you know that Lillie is still hanging in there. She has been having shorter and less intense spells than before, but they are more frequent. She usually has one every Thursday or Friday. It’s very bizarre.
She goes to the vet on Monday for her retest on her t-4. They do this every three weeks to readjust her meds. She started at .4 and we are now at .2 hopefully they will lower it and she can level out. The vet thinks her spells could be caused by her thyroid still being out of whack. When she was tested at .4 her thyroid was a 9.4 instead of a 1.2-2.0 which is ideal. He said not to give up just yet. Otherwise, she is fine. She has a few bad hours a week and then sleeps it off and bounces back. It’s giving me a nervous breakdown but she seems to handle it fine.
She has two new friends, my sister in-law’s 2lb Maltipoo and my son’s friend’s three-pound Toy Pom, she finds them fascinating. I think she thinks they are varmints. She like to hunt them throughout the house and when they stop she rolls over in front of them. It’s pretty funny.
Sincerely, Stacy
Update November 16, 2008
Knock on wood!! Lillie has not had a spell in several weeks. her thyroid meds have been dropped to a .2 and this seems to be doing the trick. Her coat is coming in nicely. The wiry coat is also coming in and she is really starting to look good. She’s back to 100%. Hopefully, we will stay on course. So far no other problems have come up. I’m hopeful. Now if I could get her to sleep past 6:30 AM on a weekend we would really be making progress.
Thanks for everything and Happy Holidays. Stacy & Lillie
Update January 29, 2008
Lillie – WestieMed Recipient
Today is a good day. Lillie went for several weeks without any spells. Her meds were regulated at a .2 and she seemed to finally have leveled out. The first couple of weeks of January were rough. She has three spells and one of them lasted for two days. This was the first time that the Vet was able to see her in the middle of a full thrown spell. He feels that it is definitely neurological. He really feels that the spells are her form of a seizure and he would like to try and put her on seizure meds, however, he does not want to make anything worse. At this point, we have contacted U. of Mo. Vet school about having the CT scan and a visit with the Neurologist.
When she comes out of the spells she acts 100%. She is all Westie. She still has tons of spunk.
Here are a few pictures…her fresh summer haircut, her sunbathing (this is her morning routine in the summer) and her Christmas poncho.
Stacy & Lillie
Lillie – WestieMed Recipient
Lillie – WestieMed Recipient
Update April 21, 2009
So far so good. Lillie has been doing very well lately. No real spells, just a few upset tummy episodes.
I have contacted both the U of I and U of Mo and they both want $2,500.00 for a full MRI work up. They say that a CT scan is not good enough. They need to see soft brain tissue. It is a two to three-day process.
Good news, I did find a job. I work out of my home several days a week so I do get to spend a lot of time with her. She is not home alone for long periods of time. I can stagger my schedule around everyone else.
I am waiting for her insurance to process some info on her. The underwriter has it now. We will see what they say. I really want to encourage everyone to take out a shelter care policy with a pet care insurance co as soon as they take guardianship. If I had done this with Lillie within seven days of adopting her, I would not have had any of these issues. They would have covered 70%. I hope all is well with everyone at WestieMed.
We are looking forward to nicer weather. We have a new dog park and agility course in town. Lillie loves agility and the more she can run the better. A few days ago she took off after a goose at our pond (at least three football fields away) she is lightning fast.
There is hope for broken-down ol’ Westies. I will keep you posted.
The Fischer Clan
Update July 11, 2009
Lillie is still hanging in there. I have her on a holistic diet and we are working with a nutritionist and a natural pet food store. I came across an e-book on canine pancreatitis and the effect if prolonged and untreated. So we are back to the basics as dogs that have thyroid issues are predisposed to pancreatitis.
Stacy and Lillie
Update January 20, 2010
Update on Lillie. She is doing really well. She is on her holistic diet and has not had any spells in quite a long time. She has a new Westie sister Heidi from the HSMO in St. Louis, MO. Heidi has some leg issues due to being what I call a miller. They get along very well and they team up together against DelFuego. We will be moving to Santa Fe, NM this summer. They are looking forward to their new big fenced in back yard!!!!
Miss Bossypants survived Hurricane Katrina somehow and was brought to the Noah’s Wish Shelter in southern LA as a stray. The area she was found in was devastated…. Noah’s Wish was very concerned as she seemed even more stressed than what thought was usual so they contacted us. Louisiana Westie Rescue was happy to take her in and agreed to foster her for sixty days so her family would have a chance to find her. Her picture is posted on Petfinders and on the LWR website but no one has claimed her.
This little gal really gave her foster mom a run for her money the first couple of weeks! She was determined to escape and did once but not for long thank goodness! She now has a new micro-chip, her foster mom wasted no time getting that taken care of! Miss Bossypants was also quite snappy hence the name but now she has settled down, figured out no one is going to hurt her, and seems content to stay.
As if surviving a hurricane is not enough she has a bony lump on her head and thanks to Westiemed we will soon know if it is something serious or not! The vet wants to take some x-rays and do a biopsy to rule out anything that may need to be treated. Miss Bossypants is in a loving environment and I have a feeling her foster mom has fallen for her….. We of course hope her family does come forward and will leave her contact information on Petfinders for at least ninety days.
Thank you Westiemed and all those that contribute so these little ones can receive the care they need and deserve!
Laura Ardoin Louisiana Westie Rescue
Update: June 2006:
Miss Bossypants is getting better and better. When she first came to live with us if we did anything she didn’t approve of (like pick her up when SHE didn’t want to be..or put her down from the couch when SHE wasn’t ready), she’d bite us. Now I can actually see her restrain herself when she gets mad at us. She is still the boss around here. She keeps our four terriers in line at all times. It’s so funny because she’s the smallest. She’s become more and more affectionate and loves a good scratch/rub/hug. Her eye is still not blinking, so I’m putting a lubricant ointment in it several times a day, and at night, I put an antibiotic ointment in her eye. Since the operation, the eye is nonstop watering. I took her to two vets just to check it out and they tested the secretion and made sure the sinus cavity between the tear duct and nostril was ok, and they both say everything’s ok and it’s just a matter of her not blinking.
I so wish she could talk and tell us what she went through. She does NOT like to admit it, but I do think she’s a bit fearful of thunderstorms…who knows how she spent her time during the hurricane. The neighborhood where she was picked up was heavily damaged.
Thank you SOOO much for your help. I AM very grateful for your help. Life just isn’t the same around the Big Easy anymore…I don’t think it ever will be.
Marian
Update: February 2007:
Miss Bossypants crossed the bridge Tuesday night (January 30, 2007). Her kidney’s failed and despite the aggressive treatment, she had to leave her mom. Miss Bossy pants was very special and deeply loved. Thanks to WestieMed, Miss Bossypants was able to know that love for many months after being rescued.
