Wisconsin Westie Rescue Newsletter 20 2012 Nov.pdf · Wisconsin Westie Rescue is a 501 (c)(3)...

In This Issue

Holiday Spirit!Page 1 MollyPage 2 MaxPage 2 Brody, Broaghdeh of IrelandPage 3 Mailaig, 'Queen of the Ottoman'Page 4-6 Foster NewsPage 6 Laying it on the Line: On GenderPage 7 Upcoming EventsPage 7-8 Thank You to VIP Volunteers!

Holiday Spirit!

My family room looks like Santa's elves paid a visit to the Peden household and set up a satellite workshop in there. I have baskets and all of their fillers scattered on tables and on chairs, I have handicrafts and gift galore carefully sorted by type and ready to box! Everything in my family room is ready for the WWR annual holiday bazaar coming up November 16th and 17th in Eau Claire (please see 'Upcoming Events page 6 for more information).

Now as much as I would like to take credit for the items in my family room, the fact is these are all wonderful donations sent to us by our volunteers for our bazaar and my family room is just the tip of the iceberg because the Cutsforth home has 10 times the goodies!

We are so blessed to have many supporters of WWR who keep the holiday spirit of giving alive not just now but 12 months of the year! Thank you all for your support of WWR! Happy holidays to you and those you love both 2 footed and four!

Mollyby Pam Thiesing

Hi! I am Molly, a WWR rescue who went to live at my forever home with Pam and Steve about 5 years ago. At the time there were two other westies in my home, Elle and Spenser. They welcomed me right away and we loved to play together. Now I am an only dog as the other two are in doggie heaven. I live in Hayward WI on a lake and have so much fun swimming and riding on the pontoon. Sometimes my cousin Isla, a golden retriever, comes to visit and I have to share the

pontoon with her. I love it when all of the grandkids comes to visit. Lots of people to play with and I get lots of treats!I

I have it really pretty good. I like to go to bed early so sometimes I sit by the bedroom door to let everyone know it is time. I get to sleep on the end of the bed, that is, if I don't try to wiggle in between Pam and Steve. I love to ride in the car when we take trips to Eau Claire. At our house there, rabbits live under the shed in the backyard and I like to chase them.

Right now my allergies are pretty bad so I have to take some pills. Steve tried to hide them in treats but I know they are there. I spit them out but he always finds them so I just go ahead and eat them.

I am getting a little hard of hearing so I don't always hear Pam and Steve calling me and sometimes that is a good thing. They clap their hands really loudly to get my attention.

I keep trying to convince Pam and Steve to get another westie so I have a playmate all of the time. I have not succeeded yet. Maybe you can convince them for me?

Well time for a nap! Hope to see you at next year's WWR picnic!

Wisconsin Westie Rescue is a 501 (c)(3) Federal Non-Profit Organization. Donations are tax deductible. Wisconsin State License # 268578-DS

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Wisconsin Westie Rescue Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 3 November 2012

Changing Lives One Westie At a Time

www.wisconsinwestierescue.com Photo of Lincoln

adopted October 2012

MaxBy Kent and Audrey Mosebach

Of course, it was the weekend and no vet was open, but McDuff was pacing and anxious beyond anything we’d ever seen. So we pulled on our pants and went to the 24/7 vet service 15 miles away. In about 40 minutes the veterinarian came and summoned us to the consultation room. The x-rays told the story – 12 or 15 spots of cancer on the lungs – well advanced. Everyone in tears, we got our obligatory face wash from our friend and companion of 11 years and the decisions were made. We came with a dear friend and left without him.

Like the humans we love, it took a time to grieve, and McDuff will always be a piece of our hearts, but it was not too long before we were on Petfinder looking. We have a 7 year old rescue miniature poodle, a puppy mill dog with far from wonderful behavior sometimes, but certainly highly improved since we brought her home 4 years ago. And so we were looking for a new friend for her of about 7 years, preferably housetrained and of a temperament that could abide our schizophrenic dog.

Since we knew a Westie Rescue foster family, we phoned them and they plugged us into the network. Dozens of rescue agencies later and many visits to see if our poodle would abide another pup, Max came to his foster home in Illinois and our friends in the Westie network informed us. Owners had put him on the street likely because outward signs of a tumor were visible and they weren’t willing to deal with that. The foster home was given the difficult task of seeing him through surgery and re-introducing him to the real world of a loving home and other ‘normal’ dogs.

Even during the time of surgery, Cheryl Cutsforth had given permission for the foster family to communicate with us, since our applications were mostly complete. So we already knew Max was a real ‘personality’ and didn’t back down and was doing well in foster care. A home visit came to us and after several weeks of recuperation, permission was given for a visit. It was not perfect by any means – our predictable schizo went after Max twice (with all of us protecting him) and an ultimate decision was made for him to come home with us.

We came home on July 21 and twice more that day the poodle had to assert her dominance with us always in the background. Max had already ‘scoped-out’ the place and certified it as HOME very quickly. He is impossible not to love -- 9.6 pounds of Maltese

mix and saucy behavior and a quick greeting and lick to each and every visitor come to see him. He loves to mouth play and do the pull the sock game and sit like king of the hill on the foot rest of the lounger (see photo) or up high on the back of a chair (see photo).

No difficulties between the pets have occurred since the first day (as long as we keep food and water bowls apart) and last night for the first time they started the bark and run and chase me game between them. That pretty much tells the story. Thanks to the patience and knowledge of Westie Rescue another little boy thrown on the street has a ‘forever’ home.

Brody, Broaghdeh of Ireland By Terry Hassenfus

Brody (real name is Broaghdeh born in Ireland) just turned 13 on Oct 8th 2012. I got him from WWR in May 2011. He is at the age where he likes to sleep a lot so I took some pictures of him getting sleepy and a short time after that--sleeping.

Brody was the front cover of the 2011 WWR calendar. He has been exceptionally healthy and one of the larger Westie's I've seen, he is 22 lb. but not fat. My previous Westie (Gizmo) had food allergies and I had to give her injections every 3 weeks but that gave her great relief from the itching and skin sores.

Brody likes to watch TV and will really get upset if a dog or cat or other 4 legged beasts come into view and some time even if a human is chasing someone on the set. I usually try to change the channel quickly if I'm on my toes. He will hear the intro of some commercials and run to the TV! Luckily I have it mounted about 28 inches off the floor because he stands on his hind legs with his face in front of it and barks at the critters. Needless to say I can't watch Animal Planet unless he's sleeping at the other end of the house. I have two tricks that I have him do regularly just to keep him in practice. At 8pm every night he gets a roll-over treat which he executes flawlessly. Sometimes he does the other trick where I


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put a biscuit on his nose and say wait--wait--wait and then when I say okay he grabs the treat. He will start pestering me about 7:45pm and if I don't produce the treat he starts grumbling, kind of a grummmble, grummmble as he walks off. Or if I walk in another direction he gives a muffled bark followed by grummmble, grummmble, grummmble. He's got me trained very well. But such a sweetie.

Mailiag, 'Queen of the Ottoman'!by Linda Voster

Hey friends and family! I have a dog now. She is a 6 year old westie I found through the Wisconsin Westie Rescue organization. She is a West Highland Terrier. WWR does not run a shelter. Instead they have foster homes here in Wisconsin. They 'relay' rescue animals from all over the country.

Mine came from a puppy mill in Mempis TN where she was used as a breeding bitch. Lord knows how many liters she produced in her 6 years, or how many times she had to go through the likely shenanigans used just to get it accomplished.

Her foster home named her Molly but I changed it to Mailaig and she adapted to the change quite well. The name 'Mailaig is after a West Shore fishing Village in the Scottish Highlands which I have never visited (except on the internet). I was looking to re-establish some of the Celtic pride and spunk her breed was developed to exude, I've had her since Sept 21st. Her foster family was in Mauston! Grandson Alex (everyone living in the home is required to be involved in the initial visit) drove me down to Mauston to meet her and her foster family. That was on Sept 11 but she needed to be released for adoption by her attending veterinarian. I got the call from Jerry on Sept 20th that she could be adopted whenever I was ready. My sister-in-law, Linda, went with me the next day and I officially became a dog owner!

She was quite skittish and terrified of everything. She wouldn't walk on anything but the carpet. Tiled floors, linoleum, laminated wood floors were out of the question. Last night was the first time she sat at my feet in the dining room! Of coarse I was eating broasted chicken carry out at the time which is Mailaig's absolute weakness and best temptation devised by humans!

The couch has been her refuge and safe place both here at my Waushara County summer residence and my permanent home in Appleton. Her legs are so short, she couldn't, or rather wouldn't, jump down from the couch, so I thought I should have called her 'potato' for the couch potato she seems to be. Now after a whole month with me, she can jump off the couch, up to the ottoman and even onto any living room chair I may have claimed at the moment. She understand 'outside', 'bye, bye in the car', time for nap' (up on the bed with me), and nigh, night (in her kennel at night). She loves her morning walks and that adorable westie tail went upright in pride and curiosity, and total ownership of her domain! She has found her bark and is really quite regal when I call her 'Queen of the Ottoman'!

I almost came to tears the first morning she gave me a brief “Good Morning puppy bounce” as she came out of her kennel, ready to go outside for her morning walk. I also learned that morning not to indulge or encourage too much of her morning excitement! At least now I know enough to have my hiking shoes and coat on, and be “at the ready” for out the door!

Mallaig is much more social than I would have guessed she could be. She is willing to meet people or other dogs, even cats, we encounter on our walks or in the vet’s or groomer’s waiting areas.

Truly, I found all those I became acquainted with through the Wisconsin Westie Rescue group most concerned and helpful in finding a “perfect match” for my first companion pet in more than 25 years. Of course the most diligent, Cheryl, and then Deirdre and her fiancé, and her little guy “Bean” (who took the time from their own after-work family time together to visit/inspect my home for my potential adopted dog’s safety and environmental considerations.

Jerry and Connie, Katie and Scooter (Mallaig’s foster family) have been an absolute “lifeline” to me. I truly enjoy visiting with them both. And the way they bundled “parting gifts” for me and their sweet little “Molly”, made that first transition week-end go more smoothly than I had anticipated.


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I talk up WWR to all my friends and relatives and am quite sure I have my own network of volunteers to help out with the exemplary work you manage to accomplish.

Foster News

We can alway use more great applicants, and our best referrals often come from the people who have adopted from us already! If you know of someone who would make a great home for one of our rescue dogs and are looking for a dog to make their house a home, we are always happy to talk to them! If either you or a trusted friend or colleague of yours is interested in adopting, please contact Cheryl for more information about our available dogs at [email protected] or by phone at 715.839.7831.

Kindle (mix)

Kindle says that although he is willing to hang his Christmas stocking at his foster home, he would really rather spend the holidays at his new forever home. Kindle came to rescue from a shelter and we believe he is a shih tzu/westie/?? mix. He loves playing with other dogs and going for short rides in the car. Kindle will require obedience class and a home without young children as they make him nervous. Kindle is fostered in Eau Claire.

Max (Adoption Pending)

Max is an owner turn in after his family needed to move into an assisted living community. Max is very

handsome and is looking forward to meeting his approved adoption applicant soon. Max is fostered in Eau Claire and should be considered as 'adoption pending' at this time.

Dixie (Special Needs-Adoption Pending)

Miss Dixie is the sweetest most adoringly adorable westie ever to set foot on this earth. Her main goal in life is to sit in every lap of every person she meets. Dixie, an owner turn-in, has Addison's Disease which requires monthly injections in addition to being on a daily low-dose oral steroid regimen. Dixie has two approved adoption applications considering her and therefore we are listing her as 'adoption pending'. Dixie is fostered in Eau Claire.

Rocky

Rocky is approx. 2 years old and came to us from MADACC as a stray. Rocky is all westie-tude with an extra dash of 'tude'! Rocky will need an obedience class or two, and is not the best at the groomers or the veterinarian yet but he is working on it! Rocky should be adopted by a family familiar with westie ways! Look at that face! Isn't he among the most handsome boys ever? Rocky is fostered in Altoona.


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Luella (Westie mix-Pending)

Another pretty little lady! Luella, or 'Lu' is a westie/shih tzu mix we got from MADACC who is approx 2 years of age. Luella loves playing with her foster sister Rosie. We do have an approved adoption application for Luella and therefore we are listing her as 'adoption pending'. Luella is fostered in Milwaukee.

Daryl

Daryl, age 6, is a westie male with a sad story. His family had multiple tragedies which forced him and his brother into living with a relative of their owner. This person had a large dog who broke Daryl's leg. Daryl's leg was set and casted but the person did not restrict his activity level as prescribed by his veterinarian. On the day Daryl and Duncan came to us, it was discovered the leg was broken again inside his cast and a decision needed to be made: attempt orthopedic surgery with no guarantee of success or amputate his leg. After WWR president Laura Hager consulted with the orthopedic veterinarian, surgery to fix the leg was scheduled for the following week and Daryl had successful repair surgery. Daryl is doing very well and we expect he'll be ready to adopt mid-December when he will be offered to the waiting list.

We'd like to send a huge thank you to Daryl and Duncan's foster mom, Brenda Blum. Both boys were Brenda's first fosters and she took on a lot with these two boys. We also thank Jennifer Ipsen who took Daryl for several weeks to foster during Brenda's work commitment in China, and Kim Keller-Chicoine and family for taking Duncan during that time as well. Duncan wormed his way into their family's heart where he decided to STAY. Good choice!

Lucky (Adoption Pending)

Lucky, an 8 year old female westie, has led an interesting life including surviving being run over by a car thus her name "Lucky'. She does not like young children but likes her adults very much! Lucky has an adoption application pending and we expect her to go to her forever home soon. She is fostered in Madison.

Forever Homes Found

Misty found someone special with Estelle who promises to keep her in royal comfort. Holly, and Bob Schoenecker and Rosie, our celebrity columnist fostered Misty.

Tommy officially became a Cutsforth which is sort of like becoming part of the royal family. Kris and Tom Thommesen along with Wilson gave Tommy a wonderful gift of their time and working through his fears. They went above and beyond with Tommy and deserve our thanks.

Max joins Audrey and Kent in Oshkosh (please see his story on page 2). Dottie Broznowski and Mike Maher fostered this little fellow.

Spanky joins Karen and Bill in Naperville IL. Spanky came to rescue with with serious allergies including a horrible eye infection. Steph Stenz did a remarkable job getting Spanky through those first challenging days, and Susan and Greg Verplank took Spanky


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through the rest of his treatment. Thank you fosters!

Piper loved his new life with Daniel and Sherry of Wausau! CindyLou and Doug Seefeld, and Sue Bracken fostered this very handsome boy!

Lilly became Pebble's younger sister and joined Sherri and Tim of Fitchberg. We welcome Cindy and Miles Turner as our newest foster home!

Lincoln joins his new brother Hudson in calling Janesville home. Congrats to Mandy and Gale who also fostered Lincoln.

Duncan charmed Kim and Scott into adopting him after they agreed to foster him while Brenda was in China. Brenda Blum debuted fostering with Duncan and his brother Daryl.

Mailaig (Molly), one of 2 girls from Memphis joins Linda in Appleton. Jerry and Connie Wolfgram, along with Katie and Scooter Rose fostered.

Hannah moves to the windy city with Tina and Barry. Lori and Duane Tyson took on Hannah when she first arrived to rescue, and then Jerry & Connie Wolfgram fostered her until adoption.

Lay it on the Line with Rosie:On Gender

By Rosie aka Her Royal Majesty If you ask my opinion (and who wouldn’t)… Gender is a big issue if you make it an issue. Okay, none of us is supposed to HAVE gender, because that’s been taken care of by the friendly vet, but you can’t remove a brain (though I’ve known some who could have benefited by it). And gender lives in brains, not bodies. Bodies are an accessory. A nice one, to be sure, but an accessory. Brains are sexy.

It’s brains, training, experience, and expectations that

make attitude. True, the longer a male remains unneutered, the more testosterone is circulating in his system, but also the more time he’s had to practice being whatever people decide makes a boy. And even if the vet visits those boys early, they still need time for that T-level to reduce. We need to be patient with their behavior, but at the same time we need to let them know the limits. Yes, you can sniff my butt, but not when I’m eating.

If you expect females to behave one way and males another, you’re going to reward the behavior that you believe will happen, and you’re not going to see the individual. Take everyday interactions. I bet you’d agree with me, that things go better when there’s a mixture of genders, and things go gossipier when there’s only females. Okay: same in animals. If you want snarky, get a bunch of older females and I’ll give you snarky. Even the furry boys take off. Is that because they are that way, or because they’ve been expected to behave that way? You tell me.

Take love. There’s no truth in that old wives’ (ha!) tale about female dogs being more affectionate than males. Males can be more loving, more constant, cuddlier, and totally slower to snap food from someone else’s mouth. Males can be more biddable (that’s because we’ve been telling them where to go and what to do, for generations). Males want to be left alone with their food bowl, their blanket, and their tv remote. Sure, they like to believe they’re in control, but let them have the bowl, the blanket, and the remote, and you can rearrange the rest of the house. Did we train them, or did they train us?

Take loyalty. It’s even. Every one of us has a favorite person, and every one of us loves the rest of the family almost as much as we love the favorite person. Maybe the fave is our gender opposite and maybe not. Gender might be part of loyalty, but gender is not loyalty.

You can’t genderize Those people who talk about getting a male or a female because Males are – and Females are --, need to remember that they can generalize all they want, but it’s the individual dog who is going to be the one living with them, watching them brush teeth, and staking a claim on the bed. We’re all our own selves.

Tendency toward pot belly or fat on the hips might be gender related. But don’t base your conclusions on gender; better yet, don’t sling one of those pink frilly things around my neck while I’m on my way to the buffet line.


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Upcoming Events

Holiday Bazaar, Eau ClaireTHIS WEEK!

WWR annual Holiday Bazaar is this weekend at the Schlegelmilch House on the corner of Lake and Farwell St. in Eau Claire! Hours are from 10:00 am- 6:00 pm on Friday Nov 16, and Sat, Nov 17th from 10:00- 2:00 pm.

Items include Harley Davidson collectibles, a handmade oak rocking horse, holiday decor, jewelry, handmade cards, gift baskets and mugs, pet gifts, crystal and china including Waterford and Lenox, and our FAMOUS baked goods! WWR 2013 calendars are on sale as well so if you haven't gotten your copy yet (what are you waiting for people?), pick your up at the sale and save shipping costs! If you are in the area, please stop by!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who contributed in any way to this sale! You are GREAT!!

WWR 2013 Calendar Now Available!

Did you know you could be enjoying using our 2013 calendar right now? The 2013 calendar features BONUS months of Oct-Dec of 2012! Calendar are $18 each with a $4.00 shipping. Multiple calendars will ship for the same flat $4.00 postage rate. To order contact Lana Olson at [email protected] or by mail at

Wisconsin Westie Rescue 2013 Calendars% Lana Olson

15213 W Union Dane County Line Rd.Brooklyn, WI 53521-9301

Thank you to everyone who contributed photos and remember, It isn't too early to be sending me photos

for 2014!! Send jpg photos to [email protected] or traditional pictures by snail mail to me at the newsletter address on the cover of this issue.

Holiday Silent Auction!

OMG! You will LOVE the selection of goodies coming up in our WWR holiday silent auction. My elves (aka donors of great stuff) have outdone themselves and we will have a silent auction offering of epic proportions!! You will be pleased!

I am still making final decisions on our list of goodies, but will have the list by Thanksgiving weekend (so do NOT spend all you $$ on Black Friday), so if interested in seeing the list, send me an email to [email protected]. Plans are for the auction to begin the last week of November and go for two weeks with new items offered each week. This will allow plenty of time to get the items to you by USPS in time for Christmas gift giving.

Thank You to VIP Volunteers!

Cookies for WWR-Barb Streubel

What has become a yummy tradition, Barb Streubel baked and sold her famous chocolate chip cookies at her workplace in October and donated the proceeds to WWR. This year, rescue netted $500.00 for our general vet fund from her efforts with 1500 cookies were baked and sold! Makes my mouth water to just think of all of those cookies! Thank goodness I don't work with Barb because I would have added a good 15 pounds eating all of those cookies! Thanks Barb!!

Badger Kennel Club-Lana & Tom Olson

Thanks to the organizing efforts of Lana and Tom Olson, WWR is once again making a presence in showcasing our rescue efforts at the BKC. In addition to Olsons, and their westie Laci, Kris and Tom Thommesen withWilson, Doug Allen with Ernie, Renee Overland and Mike Morris with Scarlett, and Jennifer Ipsen with Phoebe, met with people and talked to them about WWR and how we help westies in need. These volunteers are truly great ambassadors for our rescue and their efforts always introduce new people to our group who become adoptive families and valued new volunteers!

Grooming Hut, Manie and Jan!

This year is the first year we do not have our annual holiday bazaar at the Grooming Hut in Eau Claire WI. We are going to miss the location along with the local


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flavor of the Grand Ave neighborhood, but with the next door courthouse construction and it's recent expansion, and the fact we have grown in size ourselves, asking Marnie and Jan to give up several days of business just wasn't the right thing to do.

Marnie and Jan are two of our super-volunteers who donate many free grooms to our rescue group and are always among the first to literally roll up their sleeves to patiently and gently groom frightened mill or shelter dogs just entering our rescue. Many of these dogs need 3 or more baths just to get the layers of filth, mats and debris off their coats. Their gift of gentleness and love for dogs shows through 365 days of the year, and we send them our sincere thanks for everything they do for us as well as other rescues and shelters! We ♥ you!

WWR Newsletter1332 Armstrong PLEau Claire WI 54701

Thanks to our Newsletter Contributors!

Thank you to everyone who contributed stories and photos to our newsletter! Molly with help from Pam Thiesing, Kent and Audrey Mosebac, Terry Hasenfuss and Brody, Linda Voster, and Rosie, our celebrity guest columnist.

We are always looking for your stories about life with westies so drop us a line when you can! Send stories by email at [email protected] or by snail mail to the address below! Thanks!

This issue of the WWR newsletter is again being mailed to you courtesy of Katy and Scooter Rose Wolfgram! The postal service (and I) love you!

Special note to WWR Volunteer Duane! We're praying for you and sending our best wishes to you and Lori!


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Wisconsin Westie Rescue Newsletter 20 2012 Nov.pdf · Wisconsin Westie Rescue is a 501 (c)(3)...

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Transcript of Wisconsin Westie Rescue Newsletter 20 2012 Nov.pdf · Wisconsin Westie Rescue is a 501 (c)(3)...