by Lee Juslin

Prince George and Gordon, two Westies nine and thirteen respectively, came into Scottie Rescue through a number of mishaps and misconnections.

Georgie

Erica from NY/NJSR and her husband drove down to check on the situation and talk to the woman about rescue. “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do,” said Erica. “I sat on the bed with the woman and her Westies. It was immediately obvious to me that there was a strong bond of love between both Westies and the owner. The woman cried throughout and it was hard for me to hold back the tears, but I explained what rescue did and how we operated, and she seemed relieved by the time I left.”

Meanwhile, the New England group had located a foster home for the Westies in New Jersey and Erica checked that out as well. “It seemed like a good situation and the woman was eager to foster the dogs.”

Gordie

One week later, Erica got a panic call from NAWR that the owner had gone into hospice. There was a dog walker supposedly tending to the dogs, but she turned out to be unreliable and was eager to have someone else take over. Meanwhile the foster home that had been lined up by NAWR fell through. Erica contacted her partner, Judy, and she agreed to foster both dogs. Erica and her husband drove down to get the dogs.

Both of these Westies are sweet natured but they had some issues. They hadn’t been groomed in a while and, as Erica described them, they looked like abominable snowmen, and Gordie had some suspicious findings in recent blood work. To complicate matters further, it was Labor Day weekend with heavy traffic.

Gordie

Once Judy had the two Westies, she made arrangements for vet visits and grooming. The vet was not as concerned about the previous blood reading and said this could be due to lack of food and water, but scheduled a second blood panel to be sure.

Once the foster home selected by NAWR fell through, the rescue group bowed out and let Erica and Judy handle the fostering and re-homing. “Despite a lot of difficulties and confusion, it all worked out,” said Erica. “We became invested in these two guys, and we’re committed to finding good homes for them.”

Gordie at thirteen is quite healthy but does have White Dog Shaker Syndrome, a neurological condition that affects older white dogs. It presents like Parkinson’s disease, but there is nothing really wrong and is not a concerning condition. He has also had a benign growth removed from his eyelid. Westies often live into their late teens so Gordie would make a good companion for the right person. Georgie at nine is playful, gentle, and very sweet. He has no medical issues.

Georgie

Georgie and Gordie could be adopted together or separately. A good home would be one with a single adult or couple who is at home most of the time and have a fenced in yard. Gordie has a persistent urinary tract infection and needs to go outside often. Both of these Westies could be only dogs, but they also get along with other dogs. It is unknown how they are with children or cats.

If you would like to learn more about Scottie Rescue, volunteer, apply to adopt Georgie, Gordie, or one of their other rescues, or make a donation, visit them on their Facebook page or their website.

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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.