Scrappy

June 2009: 

Scrappy came to Oklahoma Westie Rescue (OWR) in rather sad shape.  Scrappy came to us a result of the diligence of some of our great OWR volunteers.  We have several volunteers who are always watching, the newspapers, the internet, etc. for Westies.  One of them notified me that she had seen an ad for a FOUND Westie.  I immediately went to the ad which stated that a male Westie had been found injured on the side of the road.  He needed medical care and the lady who found him was trying to find his owner.  I called the lady and told her who we were and what we do.  She reported that, sadly, after two weeks no one had called to claim this little guy.  She had taken him to the vet for some preliminary first aid care but indicated that his leg was badly broken and would need further care. I told her we would gladly take him and get it taken care of, if she wanted us to.  She wanted to wait one more week to see if a family called to claim him, if not, she would turn him over to us.

A week later I went to pick up Scrappy.  What a sad sight!  He had head wounds, body wounds, and a green cast on his front leg.  He had been shaved so they could treat his wounds and was named Scrappy because of the condition of his body.  Little scraps of wounds everywhere!  He was a happy guy and had already begun to run around with his cast.  He was very affectionate and loved people!  He was sad to leave this wonderful lady who had saved him but he went along with me anyway.  He soon took to me and followed me everywhere.  We scheduled an appointment with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon to have his leg examined.  Sadly, the surgeon said that while the one bone was healing the second bone was fragmented and would not heal without surgery.  With the help of WestieMed we were able to do surgery immediately and took Scrappy home the next day.  A long plate and six screws were needed to hold the bone back together.  Scrappy was an excellent patient and was quickly on his way to recovery.  He never seemed to mind being crated while he recovered and he was ever so grateful for the love and care.  He soon was up and around running and trying to chase the kitty, not much kept him down.

We believe Scrappy to be about 2 to 4 years old.  He is very alpha and loves to boss around the dogs in his foster home.  He is very much a people person and he loves to give kisses and sit in your lap.  Scrappy met an approved couple last week and paws are crossed that he will be adopted by that family next Monday.  He will be in hog heaven as the lady wants a dog that will sit with her and take car rides with her.  Scrappy certainly fits the bill!

OWR tries hard to cover its own expenses without outside assistance however we have had MANY sick and injured dogs this dump season and we just have not been able to cover all the vet costs.  Thanks to WestieMed we were able to get Scrappy's little leg fixed up!

We are also happy to report that on Monday Scrappy is being adopted by a lovely couple, the wife says she is looking for a lap dog, boy has she found the right boy!!  LOL

Thanks WestieMed!

Update August 7, 2009:  Scrappy has been adopted!

Little Scrappy is showing more of his personality with each new experience!!  He is so precious.  He loves to play fetch with his toys, and sleep on our laps.  He isn't sure about the car rides yet, but we are working on it slowly.  He has nicely put our other 2 dogs in their place , only took a bark or two with a couple of growls and they got the message!  Rix, the German Shepard, had decided he would like to be a little lap dog also!!

We took him to our vet to get his heartworm/flea and tick pills.  He said he looks great, and his son, Dr. Jeff, told us why he loves little Westies.  He loves their stubbornness and their spunk!  He did tell us that usually an adopted Westie will give you a couple of months honeymoon period and then you will see more of his personality every day!  We already love what we have!!  A little more will just make it more interesting!!  He doesn't play with Rix yet, so I would like to see that.  I think that only takes time.  Do you know he sits for treats!!?? Like he's begging??  He just started that yesterday for Glenn!  Without prompting.

He lays on the bed and watches me get ready for work.  Pepsi isn't doing very well, the medication is wearing  off.  The vet told us he was glad we got little Scrappy, because we wouldn't have her much longer.

Oh, we did take him for a walk with Rix and he loved it!  It wore him out, and we didn't go the 3 miles we usually do!  When it cools down, it will be ritual for him, but we will have to build him up!

I will keep you updated!

MJ and Scrappy

Update March 3, 2010:

Wanted to give you guys a Scrappy update!  He is doing sooooooooo good!  I am so in love as is Glenn!  He is the most lovable dog!   He plays with Rix, and our daughter is living with us on her move from NY to Texas, for about 2 months , with her Australian Shepherd and her 2 year old.  Her husband is a Border Patrol Agent in Texas.  Scrappy loves the Australian Shepherd, and loves being a part of a “pack”!!

He did have a biting incident.  He bit Caleb, our youngest son who has the Westie himself!!  Our daughter in law was petting Scrappy on her lap and Caleb reached over to pet him and Scrappy growled!  (He did warn him after all!!)  Caleb tried again and Scrappy BIT him!!  Caleb should have paid attention to the warning!

Scrappy talks to us , as you know.  But he is getting more and more vocal.  He growls a friendly growl, howls, and makes all kinds of communicative noises!   He loves to play tug of war with the other dogs, he still loves his little mouse.  He is such a perfect fit!!  He walks really well on a leash, and his endurance is building as we go.  He is learning to love riding in the car, and isn’t scared anymore.  HE IS THE PERFECT PUPPY!!

We did have some dog food issues however.  We were feeding him the Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato, and he had the most awful gas!!  A lot of it and it stunk so bad!!  He only gets really healthy natural, no wheat treats, and it was just terrible!!  So, our son and his wife shared with us that they had tried several brands on their Westie and they use Eagle Pack brand from Britton Feed and Seed.  We got that, and we feed him the fish flavored.  He absolutely loves it and has no more gas.  His hair looks better too.  It has flax seed in it.  The other 2 dogs love it too, so they are on it.  Just a side note, Britton Feed and Seed said that Wellness just bought out Eagle Pack, so it has a new package.  I guess that is a good thing, but I hope Wellness doesn’t change the recipe!

(Aren’t we on the learning curve?)

Sorry we missed the roundup, too many other obligations!  We will check for other activities and try to get a family pic with the 3 of us together!

Thank you all so much for our precious puppy.  My dad and his wife love him too!!  I am encouraging my dad to adopt a Westie, so we’ll see!

Mary Jane and Glenn Gottschalk