Daisy at nine and Charlie at six were owner turn-ins from the same home, though they are not related. The owner felt with family and work demands she could not give them enough attention, so she did the right thing and contacted Sunshine State Westie Rescue (SSWR).
Nicole, a little Westie girl, was brought to a local shelter to be euthanized. She was suffering from severe skin issues that had gone untreated, and although the owner’s vet recommended a number of meds, the owner refused them. Consequently, the skin problems had gotten way out of hand.
Sophia and Spencer, two senior Westies, had spent their lives since puppy-hood in a stable home with a caring owner. Then, their world was turned upside down.
The Westies’ owner had gone on vacation leaving the pups with a responsible pet sitter. Unfortunately, the owner was killed in a freak accident, and, with no one in the family able to take the Westies, the sitter called Sunshine State Westie Rescue (SSWR) who then took both dogs.
One day, Paula of Great Lakes Westie Rescue, received a call about a Westie with health issues that the owners wanted to turn over to rescue. The situation seemed a bit dodgy, but when Paula learned the Westie couldn’t walk and was most likely in pain, she made immediate arrangements to meet the owners and take the Westie.
Luna, aged seven, and Casper, aged four, lived happily with their owner until one day the owner decided to move and could not take the two Westies and that turned out to be a life-saving event for Luna. Enter Sunshine State Westie Rescue.
Jackson came into rescue as an owner turn-in. Despite the owner’s claims that she had been treating this now six year old Westie since he was a puppy, he was in about the worst shape that Aggie and her colleagues at Sunshine State Westie Rescue had ever dealt with.
Originally bred to flush badgers and foxes from hiding places in the rocky terrains of Scotland, the Westie came in all colors. However, multi-colored dogs were sometimes mistaken for the game they flushed. They were then bred to be all white for their own safety. The dogs were named for the areas in which they lived such as Pittenweems, Poltallochs, and Roseneaths. In the early 1900s the breed was officially named West Highland White Terriers.
Shelby was an owner surrender to Sunshine State Westie Rescue (SSWR), a relatively new rescue organization in Florida.At eight years old, Shelby had a number of medical issues including a severe yeast infection (Malassezie Dermatitis), an associated ear infection and an eye infection. Plus, she felt so bad, she showed no energy or interest in anything, but, most shockingly, Shelby was a certified therapy dog. The owner’s story was that she had broken her arm and could no longer take care of Shelby.
Enzo was near death when he was dumped in the woods. Fortunately a woman walking through those woods, found him, and just as fortunately for Enzo, his rescuer called Sunshine State Westie Rescue (SSWR).
Bella was picked up as a stray by a Florida shelter. It was immediately clear that she did not have the use of her back legs and that the shelter was not equipped to handle such a significant medical problem. This is where little Bella’s life took a significant turn because the shelter, instead of putting her down, sent her to a vet.
