by Lee Juslin

Scruffy, a little Westie, was found as a stray by a well-meaning lady. She took him in and he became a beloved member of her family, romping with her kids, enjoying car rides and snuggling happily with anyone offering an available lap.

Unfortunately Scruffy, like many Westies, had skin problems and his skin issues grew more severe as time went on requiring medications, vet visits and a special diet. All of this proved too expensive for the single mom working two jobs and raising three children. After five years of struggling to care for Scruffy, she made the painful decision to turn him over to rescue. Although the family was heartbroken, they wanted to do what was best for Scruffy. In fact, when the day came to deliver him to rescue, the broken hearted woman had her mother take him in.

Scruffy

Lone Star Westie Rescue (LSWR) took Scruffy, now seven, and began a long and expensive process of dealing with his medical issues. Scruffy is making great progress, but he has lost a lot of hair. The vet, however, is convinced it will grow back making Scruffy the good looking Westie he was meant to be. LSWR sends the mom and her family regular Scruffy updates, and while they are sad and miss him, they know they have done the right thing for Scruffy.

Scruffy is currently with a foster family where he gets lots of love and attention from both the adults and the children in the family. He is a happy boy, despite his health problems, enjoys the company of the family cat and even likes his baths. The little Westie seems to understand he has gotten a second chance and shows his gratitude with snuggles and lots of play time. In fact, Karen from LSWR, suspects that this might be a foster “failure” and Scruffy may have found his forever home.

Lone Star Westie Rescue is an all volunteer 501c3 organization founded in 2012. Their mission is to rescue and re-home Westies and Westie mixes in northern Texas, but they do coordinate with rescues in other parts of the state. They have a strong network of transporters and foster homes and will even take in dogs from out of state if transport can be arranged.

Scruff and Mom

This young rescue group has successfully rescued over seventy-five dogs in just two and a half years. Recently they held a reunion picnic and fun day for their adopters and dogs. All the food was donated and they held contests and races for the attendees like the Egg on a Spoon race that requires each person to walk his dog on a leash while carrying an egg on a spoon in the other hand. The event was well attended and a good time was had by people and dogs alike.

If you would like to learn more about Lone Star Westie Rescue, donate, volunteer, or apply to adopt a dog, visit their website: LONE STAR WESTIES or like them on Facebook: LONE STAR WESTIES ON FB. You can also support the group by participating in their Facebook auction July 17—19: www.facebook.com/groups/LoneStarWestieRescueAuction.

You can find more animal rescue, therapy animal, and other pet related articles in our pet section.

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Lee Juslin is a free lance copywriter living in North Carolina with her husband, Scott, and her band of misfits: Tarquin, a Wheaten Scottish Terrier, and three handicapped cats. They can be seen on their website: Hampshire Hooligans. She owns I B Dog Gone, a small embroidery business and is the author of the Nurse Frosty books for children and Frosty’s Story: Tales of a Therapy Dog. She supports a number of national and regional terrier rescue organizations.