Westie Rescue Page Posted May 7, 2008 In Tillsonburg there are several puppy mills. There is also a small group of dedicated women whose mission it is to check these mills on a regular basis an ask to take non-performing dogs that would otherwise be killed. They take all breeds. If they cannot place a dog log locally, which is often the case, they call the breed recue division. On Monday they rescued an adult male, so on Tuesday I went to pick up Gerry. He appeared to have a bad eye infection and a serious skin problem, but seems well fed. He is very skittish, frightened of loud sounds and sudden movements. He seems to prefer women over men. Here are the first pictures with Brigitte. Tomorrow he goes to the Vet, then, all going well, a walk around the farm with Pearl. Posted May 7, 2008 We spent over an hour at the vet this morning. Gerry has fleas and lice, and an ulcer on the left cornea. While at the vet's he had two pees and a big poop right in the middle of the examining room floor--just perfect for a stool sample. We all thought it was quite funny that he lifted his leg on the "Wet Floor" sign. This evening Brigitte took him to Ren's Pet Depot for a bath. He smells and looks much better. Posted May 8 Gerry's left eye is looking much better. We went for a walk for about an hour, but we didn't go very far. At first he was very slow moving, then gradually got into the spirit of it. By the end he was keepping up with me, yet still doing lots of sniffing. He will now come for a treat and seems to know his name. Posted May 11 Yesterday Gerry and I went to the Vet--no peeing this time. His eye infection has improved, but he will stay on the medications at least until our next appointment on Wednesday. His skin infection is much better. It is amazing to see the improvement in Gerry over these last five days. At first he would cower when I approached him. Now he eagerly comes when I call him--it's not just me, he quickly learned about treats. The first two days he kept his tail tucked firmly between his legs. On Friday the 48 hour quarantine was over and he met Pearl! That tail started wagging and much butt sniffing ensued. He tried to be overly amorous with Pearl--as that has been his function in life in the past--but she quickly put him in his place and he has not tried that again. Gerry and Pearl Pearl and Gerry Posted May 19. This Weekend we went to Montreal and took Millie on the first leg of her journey to her new forever home in Cape Breton. Pearl came with us, but Gerry could not as he is not house trained. He stayed with some friends who have two Westies and had a great time. They had him in the house and he slept in a crate in the livingroom. Of course we couldn't put him back in the garage. He came in and we started house training him. Here he is on the couch with Brigitte and Pearl. Posted May 26. Yesterday we took Pearl and Gerry to a 'Hiking and Pet Photography Workshop' held near Aurora. Pearl was to go with Calvin, but Calvin's guardian was unable to take him, so Gerry and I were replacement companions. I was concerned as to how Gerry would react with so many other dogs around him and so many other humans above him. I needn't have been worried. He had a great time. To begin, we all introduced ourselves and our dog. I informed the group that Gerry was a rescued stud from a puppy mill and that he had never been in such a large group of dogs or people before. I mentioned that he was "intact". Before the introductions were over a very pretty neutered spaniel mounted Gerry. I pointed out this romance and most of the group had a good laugh. However, the spaniel's guardian was quite embarassed and kept a close eye on her dog to try to prevent another occurence of this behavior. The spaniel was quite enamoured with Gerry and followed him around and sniffed him when he could. On the walks, Gerry maintained a steady trot, but Pearl ran circles around him. This is the spaniel enamoured to Gerry, but he is actually sniffing Pearl here. Perhaps he is keeping his options open. Brigitte has the big camera with Pearl in front. Gerry is looking back at me. At the end of the last walk, many in the group commented on how well Gerry had done for his first time out in a group of dogs and people. They asked how we had come to rescue him and I explained about puppy mills. Some admitted that they had bought a dog at a pet store, but would not do it again. Posted May 27 Gerry and I went to the vet today. The ulcer on his cornea is continuing to improve. Healing will take some time. We are holding back on the neutering and the teeth cleaning in case he needs an operation on his eye. If we can do everything at the same time, with only one anesthetic, we can save quite a bit of money. Yesterday Gerry passed a milestone. He ran for the first time! We were out in the yard and I was offering treats for doing a "come". Pearl had found something interesting to sniff in the grass and was distracted. Gerry came trotting over for the treat, but suddenly Pearl came running and passed him. He took up the challenge and ran. They both got treats and Gerry panted for a few minutes. Visit the Canadian West Highland White Terrier Club Website. Visit Millie and Lacey's Rescue Page Visit Pearl's web site. Send us an e-mail.