Miss Idgy, pictured in the Christmas photo on the far right, is the youngest of my furbabies. She was 7 months old when I rescued her in March 2007. I was in Louisiana for a brief period. A young couple bought her from a “breeder” in Missouri. The puppy was airmailed in a crate to Louisiana. When the puppy exited the crate, she limped terribly. The young couple took the puppy to their local Vet and was then diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease. The Vet told them that a doggie orthopedic surgeon could fix the hip and would cost $3,000. The young couple called the “breeder” who, in turn, told them to put the puppy down, euthanize; that the breeder would send them another from the next litter.
Thank goodness the young couple knew to call Westie Rescue. I collected her from the couple. Long story short… Westie Med provided the financing for LSU Vet school to repair the hip. I stayed with her and nursed her back to health. I took her swimming in my pool so that she would learn to use the muscles in that leg again. After my having her in foster care in my house for 9 months, I could not give her up.
Idgy’s original name was Missy. Her personality mimics a character in Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flag. The character is a live wire… a wild cat named Imagene Threadgood, nic named Idgy. So, I renamed her Miss Idgy.
November 27, 2007 at 5:54 am
Who would have thought that a West Highland White Terrier would need to be rescued.
Lucy, pictured on the right, was my first rescued Westie. She came to me in 2001 as a 1 1/2 year old with a severe digestive disorder. She ate like there was no tomorrow but was extemely thin. Her originally family had triplets and could no longer take care of a special needs dog. Lucy takes a digestive enzyme 20 minutes before she eats anything and is a happy and healthy Westie. She is the Queen of the house.
Dougal, pictured on the left in the banner, was given up to rescue because the original owner could not break him of peeing in the house. I took him to the vet whereby we discovered that he had a urinary track infection. The peeing problem was cured with a round of antibiotics. He has his Canine Good Citizen Certification and is an excellent mouser.
July 19, 2008 at 3:46 am
I have a 3.5 month old male Westie who goes to daycare and is obsessed with the kiddy pool there. While the other dogs shy away from it, he jumps right in, and if there’s no water in it, he sits and waits for it to be filled. I hope to take him swimming as he grows older. Do you know if Westies seem to have an affinity for water?
July 19, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Westies generally do not like water. Unlike the poodle, the Westie’s body composition is very dense which does not make them very boyant. They are, after all, earth dogs. I took Lucy and Dougal canoeing one time and Dougal stayed under my seat the whole time while Lucy hung ten on the side of the canoe. I put life vests on both of them in case they did fall in. Since your puppy likes water so much, I predict that you’re going to have a little water dog on your hands as he grows older. Miss Idgy is a water dog because of her intensive therapy after her leg surgery. she was a puppy when all of this occured. I’ve turned my little earth dog into a water dog. Post or send me some pictures of your little guy in the pool. I’ll bet they’re adorable. V