by Lee Juslin

Lylee is a seven-year-old Wheaten Scottie that started life in a Kansas puppy mill. She had her first and only litter at a young age, and as is often the case, she was not a good mom.

Not excelling at motherhood turned out to be a good thing for little Lylee as she ended up with Scottie Rescue in Oklahoma. As with all puppy mill dogs, Lylee had not been well socialized and that made her hard to place. However, the rescue team persevered and found her a good home in New Mexico with a single woman. That would have been the end of the story except that Lylee’s new mom, originally from the northeast, decided to return there and settle in Connecticut.

Lylee

Unfortunately, Lylee developed severe skin issues largely because she was not acclimated to the pollen and vegetation in the northeast. Her mom spent several thousand dollars trying to conquer the skin sores, ear infections and severe itching, but Lylee just wasn’t responding. Unable to help her beloved Scottie, the owner made the difficult decision to turn her over to Greater New York/New Jersey Scottie Rescue.

When rescue took in Lylee, they checked with the rescue folks in Oklahoma and the decision was made to keep her with the New York/New Jersey group. They immediately took her to a vet specializing in canine dermatology where she underwent allergy testing. The results of the tests helped the vet to develop a special serum to counteract the specific allergens causing Lylee so much discomfort. Slowly, she began to improve. The sores disappeared, the ear infections she had suffered were gone and her hair grew back. Lylee was turning into a very pretty Wheatie, yet her lack of socialization was a problem. She was aggressive with other dogs and clearly would not do well with children or the elderly. Time passed and no candidates stepped forward to adopt her.

Lylee’s owner had stayed in touch with the rescue group and followed her progress. Finally, with no adoptions on the horizon, the decision was made to return Lylee to her original owner with support from rescue for her special allergy needs. There was no question that the owner loved Lylee and wanted to do the very best she could for her, but it didn’t work out. Her allergy problems came back and, despite shots with the serum formulated just for her, Lylee’s ear and skin infections returned. Once again her heartbroken owner turned Lylee to rescue.

Erica from the New York/New Jersey rescue took in Lylee, got her back to good health and began to work on her behavioral issues. Then, a stroke of luck! A previous adopter from Cape Cod, whose Scottie had died, called about adopting another Scottie. Having dealt with shots for diabetes and other issues with their previous Scottie, Erica thought this just might work out for Lylee. A meet was arranged.

The Cape Cod folks fell in love with Lylee and wanted to adopt her. They agreed to keep up with the vet dermatologist and the allergy shots. Now, Lylee is living the good life as an only dog with a big fenced in yard, walks on the beach, lots of cuddles, and no scratching. A happy ending for all!

If you would like to learn more about Scottie rescue, volunteer, make a donation, or apply to adopt a rescued Scottie, check out the Greater NY/NJ Scottie Rescue site: RESCUE or Visit their Facebook page: Scottie Rescue on FB.

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.