Sammy, reportedly 3 years old was an owner turn-in after being referred by another So. CA Westie Rescue group, who did not have foster homes. Our volunteer picked up this overweight (28 pound), filthy, matted, barking Westie who had been owned by a single woman. The home was basically a shack and the dog was in the back yard most of his young life. The whole place was filthy, the dog needed immediate Veterinarian care (major ear infection), his shots were due soon, a grooming and some type of stable environment to hopefully retrain (OR START TRAINING).
When the dog was picked up he was then taken to one of our experienced commercial groomers who tried to give him a bath, demat and clipper the mess of fur on him. He became so unruly, biting, lunging at the grooming shop our volunteer was called back . A muzzle was tried, but they were unsuccessful in getting the dog to stay still long enough to secure it. The dog had to be medicated by our volunteer to complete a bath, blow drying and some clippering. He still fought even though medicated and grooming was at best ......terrible. While in our volunteer's car on the way to the foster home, the dog barked, showed aggressive behavior when the car stop at a stoplight. He saw people walking along the side walk, he tried to attack the window, barked, showing aggression. The aggression and could not be calmed down. Once in the volunteer's home, he tried to eat his bed that was plastic.
When we received the Veterinarian records, it showed a history of this type of behavior and biting. The Vet several times noted that the exam could not be done due to this behavior. Unfortunately, none of this information was shared prior to us picking up the dog from the immediately moving owner. She simply wanted the dog gone in 2 days!
Unfortunately, behavior such as Sammy's made him unacceptable for adoption. Perhaps if the woman had turned him in much earlier, but with a learned response behavior such as displayed he could not be trusted in an adoption setting. As unfortunate as it is, we were forced to put him down. Our program prides itself on trying to do the right thing by our breed. It is not a happy situation when an event such as this occurs...both for the dog and our caring volunteers. It is unfortunate but a reality of improper dog ownership. Sammy is now playing with his fellow Westies at The Rainbow Bridge. We are sending hugs and love his way.
Please do not email requesting information.
Please click on the 'Adopting a Westie' link for adoption information and forms.
We do not ship our dogs, but do adopt to out-of-state to approved homes.
Thank you for considering a rescued Westie for your home and hearts.
