Our Three Rescued Westies
By Paul Dimock
Several months ago, Monique (the President of the West Highland White Terrier Club of Canada) asked Brigitte if she would be interested in being on the Rescue Committee. She said yes, but didn't know what she was getting us into.
At first, all she did was contact humane societies and other rescue groups to let them know we were here for any Westies that needed help. Then one day, she received a call from a woman who had rescued two Westies from a puppy mill. One had just had a litter that was stillborn and the other was no longer conceiving—both were to be killed. Could we come and get them? It was a couple of days before we could get the time off work to go and get them. We were told that they were in poor condition and we feared the worse. Fortunately, they had been bathed and groomed by a professional groomer who donates her services for rescues. We took them home and set them up in an enclosure in the garage. We had to keep Pearl, our Westie, away from them until we had them vet checked. Both had medical problems that needed attention.
By the time we got them, they were already fairly well socialized to human contact. We were surprised at how affectionate these girls were. They were with us for only a few days, but they quickly found their way into our hearts and we were sad to see them go. Both have now been adopted - Millie is in Cape Breton and Lacey is in Oshawa.
Then a couple of weeks later, another call came from the same area. This time it was a stud male Westie. Again we were told he was in poor condition, but this time we did not fear the worse--we should have. He had never been bathed; he was filthy and smelt awful; he was covered in lice and fleas; and his skin was covered in sores and scabs. He had an eye infection so bad that the left side of his face was all crusted over with puss and scabs. He had a corneal ulceration and treatment was started immediately. After getting him to the vet, we took him for a much-needed bath--at a local pet store, as we couldn't take him in the house. We called him Gerry, after the first Westie Brigitte had as a child.
At this point, I must explain the rescue process that has been at work here. We live just south of Guelph, close to the 401. About an hour and half drive away there is a small town with about five puppy mills in the area. In that town there is a small group of dedicated women who visit these puppy mills on a regular basis. They ask for the dogs that are no longer producing puppies and are to be killed. They take dogs of all breeds, hen contact the rescue group for that breed. As Brigitte's name and phone number are on the CWHWTC web site and the closest to this town, she was contacted. The women have asked that they, and their town not be identified so that they can continue their work. The legislation in Ontario is very poor regarding puppy mills and these mills meet the minimum requirements. The mills breed what appear to be purebred puppies (of course without papers) and sell them to pet stores in Toronto and the surrounding area.
For the first few days in our care, Gerry would cower and back away when I approached him, with his tail firmly tucked between his legs. After another few days he could stand his ground and his tail would come up to horizontal. After two weeks, now when I come home from work, he runs to greet me with his tail all the way up and wagging furiously.
The first time he met Pearl; he quickly tried to show her his stuff--after all that was his function in his previous life. Pearl would have none of that and quickly put him in his place. At first Gerry did not know how to play. He just stood still as Pearl jumped all around him and snapped at his ears. Now he has started to initiate playtime with Pearl.
Rescuing dogs from puppy mills has been such a rewarding experience! The dogs we have cared for started out with no emotions and no personality-they were Stepford Dogs. In the past these dogs had only known fear and hardship at the hand of humans. However, within two weeks, all our rescued Westies have become so affectionate and craving of human attention. It is amazing to see how these dogs who have been denied love for so long, now have so much love to give.
Gerry, Annabel and Pearl, Gerry and Annabel were rescued from the same puppy mill.
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