Rescue Stories

What a difference a loving home has made! Today, Gracie is the picture of health and happiness. She has gained 10 pounds and has earned her Canine Good Citizen Award. Gracie gets along great with her westie brothers and sister and all of the other westies and humans who come to visit. She loves to play and be held and cuddled.

She was named Graceful Dancer because she greets everyone by standing up on her back legs and pawing the air, as she turns in a half circle. It was this “welcome dance” that earned her the full name, but it is her habit of bounding joyfully through life without worry about the consequences that earned her the nickname, “Spacey Gracie”. Given her start in life, her capacity for unconditional love is inspiring. She is truly our “Amazing Grace.”

Scooter’s story is one that we hear all too often. Scooter was a Christmas gift for a person who was not in a position to raise a puppy. This wonderful little ball of white fur and energy proved too much for the recipient, and Scooter was turned over to Westie Rescue. It was obvious that Scooter had spent a lot of time in a crate learning to be “quiet”. Although he did that very well, he had to learn how to play with toys, interact with other westies and play with people.

Scooter still loves to take naps in his crate, but spends lots of time chasing his westie brother and sister and flinging toys around the room.

Scooter also loves water. If given half a chance, he will find water and dig what we call a “Scootie pool”. As soon as the water fills up his little pool he will start diving and rolling in the water and mud. He has a grand time and loves to share his mud with us.

Scooter also loves to watch TV. He reacts to any animal even if the animal in question does not make a sound. He will also bark at children and anything making a squeaking noise. The biggest reaction we have seen was to the munchkins in the “Wizard of Oz” movie. We thought he was going to climb right into the TV.

When I first met Stewart he was only 10 months old and was a hyper westie who needed the right forever home to work with him. He had been in a foster home and was adopted, only to be returned to the rescue. The poor little guy was just confused! After some training and lots of love, he quickly became an angel. He did wonders for my older westie, who suddenly had a spring in his step. Stewie kept him young! He turned out to be a great addition to my family and is such a joy to have in my life every day! I can’t imagine life without him!

Sammy

Sammy was surrendered to the Westie Club of the South on Saturday, August 20, 2005.

His previous family had to give him up because their four-year-old son was allergic to dogs. Sammy appeared to have serious skin allergies, which hadn’t been addressed

I picked Sammy up that Saturday afternoon, intending to only foster him for about 10 days before I went out of town on vacation. While on vacation, another Westie Rescue volunteer fostered Sammy.

I fully expected him to be adopted while I was out of town. But those plans didn’t work out. So when I returned home, I took him back to foster until a family could be found. Little did I know that I was that family! It took my fellow Westie Club Board and Club members to make me see the light. At the September Board meeting I made it official and said out loud, “I want to adopt Sammy.” That’s when I realized I was the last one to figure it out!

After taking Sammy for his initial vet visit, we determined he had food allergies. I immediately started feeding him Solid Gold Holistic Blendz dog food, which helped, but wasn't enough. He was still itching and licking his paws a lot.

It was then determined that he also had protein allergies, so chicken was completely cut out of his diet. That's when I saw a big difference; he is much calmer and hardly licks his paws. His ear infections (real and imagined) cleared up, and his fur finally filled in and thickened.

Conor came to us through rescue on October 29, 2005. He was so fortunate not to have come from an abusive or unhealthy environment; it was just that his owner could no longer care for him properly.

As Conor began to settle into his new home, we noticed that even though he was very affectionate towards us, he did not like it when our other dogs came around and wanted our attention. In addition, when we took him for walks, he would bark and pull on his lead when he saw children.

In Conor’s first home he was an “only dog” and he needed to learn how to share us with our other pets. He had also had limited exposure to children, and Conor needed to learn how to interact appropriately with them.

With behavior modification, beginner obedience training, and lots of love and praise and patience, Conor is becoming the wonderful companion we always knew he would be. Knowing how to work with him has made a big difference. And through it all, Conor has remained very affectionate toward us. Our thanks to Westie Rescue for helping us work through the challenges."

When Bentley arrived in Tucker on November 1, 2005 from the Westie Rescue of the South, he was almost bald, as his previous humans had shaved him. I knew right away, however, that he was a beautiful Westie inside a bald body. As you can see, his hair is growing out, but more importantly he is my best little buddy. He was accepted right away by my other two Westies, Drew and Ellie and they have very discerning taste. Bentley has proven to be a wonderful companion and a loving friend. From Bentley: Thanks to the wonderful people at the Westie Rescue, I was lucky enough to find a perfect forever home with Harriett, Drew and Ellie. I was a very sad Westie because my previous owners did not have time for me. From the moment I arrived in Tucker with my new human, I have been treated like a king. She is even trying to teach me to play, something I had never done before. I knew right away that I had landed in "Westie heaven" because everything in this house has a Westie on it.

June 2006 McCartney (then “Wes”) came into our lives. He was flea-bitten and skinny
(16lbs), but even then, had the sweetest disposition and was friendly. We had a few
speed bumps the first week as he became used to a steady, healthy diet, but before
long was well adapted and much happier.

These last few months have been the greatest! We cannot believe that he was a stray that was almost destroyed;
we are totally in love with him! Today, McCartney enjoys riding in his golf cart in Peachtree City, going on
long walks, watching “Animal Planet” and playing with our cats! He has even been on vacation to the beach
in Florida with us :>) He loves treats and does tricks for them. He has now “leveled off” at 21lbs and looks great!

We cannot thank Westie Rescue of the South enough for allowing us to be McCartney’s parents and provide him with a loving forever home! Thank you!

We have been considering adopting a second westie for quite some time. We knew we should make sure this choice was a rescue and it would need to fit into our lifestyle. We have a Westie (male - 3years old) and a cat - female and 20 years old! A lot to ask of a new dog but with Westies it seems we can ask a lot - they are very smart!

Once we were matched up, we were told about this little female (age 6 years) who had not been cared for by her family for about 2 years. That meant no vet trips and no grooming and claws were not trimmed in that same amount of time! We were also told that Dixie suffered from a skin condition called mange. Not your ordinary type but demodectic mange. This is normally seen in puppy hood. Since Dixie had it, it could only be due to her immune system being stressed.

Dixie was vetted by the rescue and started on medication. After about 3 1/2 weeks we met her for the first time. We were told she was quiet, and didn't bark unless she "joined in with the other dog". We were also told that she went to bed in her x-pen with her blankie and slept through the night.

We knew once we saw her that we wanted to take her home. We had our male Westie and they met and did well together. We brought her home in a new carrier and she was very quiet on the ride home.

We have had her about one month now. Dixie is still on her medication for her skin condition but the spots with lost hair are showing positive signs of re-growth. She's a trooper when it comes to taking her medication and never fights against it - I guess she knows we are helping her.

My husband and I are dog kissers and Bo has always reciprocated. Not Dixie! She takes kisses but has not been ready to return those till this week! She kissed me on my nose and on my cheek!

She and Bo run like crazy through our house and play tag. They sleep together, and sometimes sleep over each other. Dixie is no longer quiet! She now voices her opinion if there are people she is not sure of - to protect us all, I am sure! We walk every evening and her little fat tummy is slimming down! She has hundreds of toys that she shares with her brother. She runs outside with us (always on a leash) and just appears happy. Dixie and Bo are truly a little pair and they have brought untold joy to our lives. Dixie is also just fine with our cat, not something westies are known for. When Bo does one of his little tricks; Dixie watches closely and repeats it later! She's a mess and we love her.

Happiness to a dog is what lies on the other side of a door. - Charleton Ogburn Jr.

It was a warm February night when we rang the Saunder’s doorbell. We had just commented that we didn’t know how a Westie’s bark sounds; however, before I could take my finger from the button, McCartney and Bob were in full Westie serenade. Bob or Bobby—originally known as Bam Bam—was a rescue in Martin’s, Chrissie’s, and McCartney’s home in Peachtree City. He was as curious about what was on the outside of the door as we were about what was on the inside. Bob was welcoming, energetic, wiggly, slurping, and loving. His carrot tail moved in all directions, and “the look” we had seen in the clear, almond-shaped eyes in Martin’s photos was inescapable. This was clearly a dog of “no small amount of self esteem” as the definition of the West Highland White Terrier goes. It was tough for Martin to let him go. The Saunders would have kept Bob if it there hadn’t been issues with their twelve-year-old cat, who considered Bob someone to avoid at all costs. Martin said ‘Cartney moped and wouldn’t eat the next day. Fortunately, their next rescue worked out. The Saunders have a new home with plenty of outdoor space for two Westies.

Bob brought his Christmas toys—a reindeer and a red gingerbread man—to Marietta and made friends with his new buddies Ted, a 17-year-old Pomeranian, and Brontë, a tortoise shell cat of unknown origin. In the best Highland tradition, Bob anointed himself laird of the manor. He is gracious enough to allow us to spend nights and weekends. Because of Ted’s age and advanced arthritis, he and Bob were not really playmates. Ted is gone now; and the cat stands her own ground.

What Bob loves most is the hilly backyard that we call his “hundred-acre woods.” Well, it’s not really woods and it’s definitely not a hundred acres, but there is a natural thicket area at the top of the hill where he has created a nest. That would be the hill where he sits while surveying his properties. Most of all, Bob loves the squirrels, the chipmunks, the moles, and other little varminty things we don’t identify. He’s not very good at catching them because he has to wait at the door until he is “released” so the prey has a head start. As the Doggy Zen screensaver says: “If you catch the squirrel today, there will be no squirrel to chase tomorrow.” His zeal is undaunted. He will race out across the patio, chase the interloper up a tree, run in ever increasingly frenzied circles around the tree the squirrel ran up plus every other tree in the backyard looking up and barking until he either gives up or fulfills some purpose only he knows. He did catch something one afternoon or maybe it caught him. He had blood on his check and a chunk of missing lower lip. Fortunately, it has healed without incident. He almost caught a rabbit, which ran along the fence into the natural area and immediately made three left turns passing Bob and then crossing behind him while Bob continued straight into the brush. Somewhere that rabbit is still telling the tale of that dumb white dog that lives at the corner.

Bob has completed Beginner’s Obedience Training and Agility Training; however, there has been a change in Bob’s behavior that shows in an unpleasant protective and territorial aggressiveness, which we hope is due to his solo status. The neighbors behind us have a miniature Pinscher they call Marcellus. He and Bob are friends, but not in the sense that Bob and McCartney were, or Bam-Bam (Bob) and Pebbles (his first companion) were. Bob and Marcellus run up and down the fence and bark a great deal, which Tina advises is very territorial. We are looking for a companion to share his life and hopefully, again on Tina’s advice, to bring some balancing dominance into his world. Uh, and that would be a female?

Right now, Bob is lying on the den floor in front of the French doors with his reindeer and red gingerbread man beside him certain that happiness lies on the other side. This is his chosen “spot.” The squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and whatever else know that they will hear the chime of the alarm as we open the door before we’ll release him on them. Doesn’t matter to him; he still believes. You can see it in his smile; and, oh, the sound of the bark? Oh, my god!

(The quote comes from DogQuotes.com Home of everything to do with dogs/puppies including Proverbs/Sayings/Movies etc. www.dogquotes.com/ It’s a site for when you have nothing better to do.)