North Atlantic Westie Rescue

Happy National Westie Day! Every day is actually National Westie Day. We all know that. ❤️

Do you have a dog with pulmonary fibrosis? We call it Westie Lung Disease. Our Gizmo is now doing a clinical trial with Tufts to treat his IPF. He’s doing great! Let us know if you have a dog with IPF and drop a picture in the comments!

Our long-term/hospice foster Lilly had a down day with her kidney disease. As many of you know, kidney failure is one of the most exasperating illnesses to watch progress. Her foster mom and dad keep her happy and comfortable. She loves this set up with her blankets. Happy girl. We love you Lilly!

One of these dogs is a rescue. The other came from a reputable breeder. Do you see any difference? Neither do we.

As a rescue organization, we often hear the phrase “adopt, don’t shop” in our work. You should absolutely shop reputable breeders. And not just ones who are “AKC.” That means nothing. Do your own homework.

Rescue dogs aren’t for everyone. We give you permission to build your fur family in whatever way you need to. There is so much shame in the world around not doing what everyone thinks you should.

Left: Gizmo, 13, hospice dog in NAWR
Right: Walter Elias, 1, bred by Diane Levesque (and our volunteer, we love you Diane!)

UPDATE ON GIZMO: Last week, we rushed Gizzy to the emergency room after he had collapsed. We are lucky to live near Tufts Veterinary School and Gizmo’s foster mom is a Tufts professor. We soon learned that he had severe pulmonary hypertension. If we had waited, he would not be here. But with overnight care, he recovered! We also learned Gizmo has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or Westie Lung Disease. He is now home with foster mom, dad, human sister, and Westie bro Walter. And here he will remain as a Sprite program member, our hospice. But as far as he is concerned, Gizmo is in his forever home!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with your sweet Westies. We asked AI to make us a sweet Westie pic, but we would rather see your babies in our comments. Have a great night!

FOSTER/ADOPTER NEEDED: Meet Miss Meadow, age 14 years young! We are looking for a very special placement for this total sweetheart. Her human has gone into memory care and so sadly Meadow needs a new family. She’s got a great temperament, gets along well with other dogs/cats, and is peppy for an older dog (playful and likes toys). She has suspected Cushing’s which is typical for dogs this age. We need a foster or potential adoptive family who is home a lot and understands older dogs have to p*e as much as older adults do! She is in upstate NY. Please message us if you can help. Serious inquiries only from NY, NJ, New England, and Eastern PA. Thank you!

Hi everyone. We wanted to update everyone on Miss Lilly, who is a member of the Sprite hospice program. Her foster mom Barbara sent us this picture, sharing that she still fighting her kidney failure valiantly. She gets fluids twice a week but we have noticed her weight loss accelerate. We thank Barbara and her family for making Lilly’s life the best it could be!

Hi everyone! Meet Gizmo. This 13 years young boy is recovering from terrible skin problems. He’s been with our program for several months. We just love him to pieces! Please welcome him to NAWR!

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION in TAMPA, FLORIDA! Meet Miss Paisley! Paisley is 11 years old but she acts like she is 2. She came to rescue because she thinks she is the boss of everyone. She needed to learn she wasn't! After working with foster mom Diane she has learned how respect and turned into a wonderful Westie girl! Paisley is very playful and loves to cuddle on the couch. She is house-trained and crate-trained. We are looking for an adult-only home with a yard. She does do well with other dogs, but we do not know about cats. Paisley is currently in FLORIDA and will be for the winter. We don't deliver LOL so you have to be willing to make the trip. Are you Paisley's new parent? If so, please send Auntie Karen an email: [email protected] and tell her why you would make a great home for Paisley! She will tell you how to apply.

Hi friends! North Atlantic Westie Rescue needs FOSTER HOMES urgently for cases waiting to come in. Right now, we do not have an adequate mechanism to vet foster homes so we ask people to be PATIENT with us if you don’t hear back quickly. Our volunteer directors are doing a huge amount of work with almost no help. We need fosters who have Westie experience, do not care about p*e in their house, and can deal with mild behavioral issues like barking. You can live in any New England state, New Jersey or New York. Post below if you are interested and send us a message. Serious inquiries only. We are not interested in volunteer help in any other area than fostering. No children please.

And NO, the dog pictured is NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION. We don’t get or take puppies as our focus is dogs over the age of 8. This dog belongs to our Founder and his name is Walter. 🥰 He wants you to foster for NAWR!

Mac and Chloe made a new friend on their walk this morning.

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Lovely Callilily is looking for her forever home! This gentle girl came to us in December and after receiving loving care from her foster family, she is now ready to settle into her permanent home.

Callie is an almost 9-year-old spayed female who did not have the greatest start in life. She spent too much time in her crate, and due to this and a subpar diet, she developed skin issues. She also has vision loss which can cause her to be nervous and growl when she is unsure of herself. In spite of this, she is a sweet girl who loves other dogs and will make a wonderful companion in the right home.

The ideal family will have the time and patience to work with Callie. She’s not a fan of car rides and doesn’t walk well on the leash, so a home with a fenced in yard is not required but would be preferred. She also needs support with her potty training. This means bringing her outside at regular intervals. Her foster Mom said she initially had mild food aggression, but now that she knows she will get food and water on a regular basis, this has decreased. She will need continued medical support to manage her skin issues. She also has chronic dry eye and requires daily eye drops. Because of her skin issues she hasn’t been to a groomer, but her foster Mom gives her showers which she enjoys.

Callie’s foster Mom has seen her make strides over the past 3 months and feels that her issues can be resolved by living with a patient, Westie-savvy family that has the time to spend working with her. This girl deserves to find the family she was meant to be with so that she can continue to thrive. She is also the best snuggler her foster Mom has ever met!

If you are interested in adopting Callie, please review NAWR’s adoption information and complete an application here: https://nawestierescue.org/adopt/. If you have submitted an application in the past 6 months, please send an email to [email protected] and put "Callie" in the subject line.

You may have heard that Amazon has made the disappointing decision to end their AmazonSmile program. If you are thinking of making any purchases and would like NAWR to receive the donation, please do so prior to February 20th.

Thank you for making North Atlantic Westie Rescue your charity of choice. You can continue your support by making a one-time or recurring donation: https://nawestierescue.org/donate/.

North Atlantic Westie Rescue » Donate To donate to a specific dog, choose I would like to designate this donation to a specific fund under Donation Information, and select the cause you want to support. To support our general fund, do not check this box.

Hi Everybody, it’s me, Emma!! My foster Mom sat me on her lap this morning and I read all of your birthday messages. Thank you for thinking of me and all of your pawsome messages, likes, and loves. I am so glad to be part of the NAWR family. I am happy and living my best life with my brother and my foster parents. xoxo Emma 🥰

🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾 🐾

Join me in wishing a very Happy Birthday to NAWR’s Emma! She turned 16 yesterday and celebrated with her foster family and her brother Mac.

Happy Birthday Miss Em!!!

🎉🐾💗

If you use Amazon for your holiday shopping (and beyond), please consider doing so by using the link below. Amazon donates to NAWR for most purchases made, but you have to be logged in to AmazonSmile and have NAWR designated as your charity of choice. There is no cost to you and the prices of items are the same as purchasing on Amazon.

Win-Win!

Support North Atlantic Westie Rescue, Inc. by shopping at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to North Atlantic Westie Rescue, Inc.. Support us every time you shop.

Introducing Emma and Mac!!

Emma (16) and Mac (13) came to NAWR a couple of weeks ago and are being fostered in Massachusetts. This bonded pair have settled in nicely after taking a few days to decompress. At this time they are not available for adoption as further evaluation and medical care is needed.

Miss Emma is a spry gal who will be 16-years-old in January. This sweetheart is blind, so it has taken her a little while to get used to her new surroundings, but her confidence grows more and more each day. She is smart and adorable and full of sass!

Mac is a 13-year-old outgoing, handsome charmer of a boy who will gladly give you all the kisses you could possibly want. He has a big personality and befriends everyone (human or dog) that he meets. He keeps a watchful eye on his sister Emma, helping to guide her around the house and yard.

Please say hello to these two sweethearts!

NEW FOSTER ALERT: We have been busy but failing at posting (sorry!) so let us catch you up with this little one! Meet Berkley! Berkie Boo is about 9 and is a very special boy. His mom made a very difficult decision to release him to us after becoming sick, and we are going to do our very best for her and Berkley! Right now, Mr. B is in foster care with a Westie girl sibling learning the lay of his new domain with Foster Mom. He has to have dental care soon but he could care less. He has a huge backyard and lots of new smells!

WELCOME MCDUFF! This senior has been in our program for several months as a respite case. This means he is living in foster care under ownership of his family but cared for by our volunteers. This is not something we typically do, but this was a special circumstance involving a special owner and a special dog. McDuff is not available for adoption, but we intend on sharing him with you because he is so darn CUTE! Say hi!

ATTENTION NEW JERSEY: We need volunteers in your state! We need foster homes, people will to transport, and people willing to pick up dogs in need. We want to build a full network of people to serve the state, and this includes identifying a leader who will coordinate rescue for NAWR. We know people are busy, but we get more apps from NJ than any other state. Without volunteers in NJ, we cannot make placements there easily. Currently, we have a dog there we can’t move to foster care because we don’t have open fosters in the state. Saying yes to this means making yourself available and answering our calls. We do work that matters to these dogs. Trust us. Dogs ARE better than people! Comment and share. Serious inquiries please DM us with your email, phone, location, and Westie experience. Thanks!

NEW FOSTER DOGS: We recently took in this bonded pair. Jake (14) and Jesse (13, female) are best friends and are just the sweetest dogs. Their mom passed away and their family came to NAWR for help with placement. Right now, this pair is being fostered by Miss Lory until their medical appointment. Once we know what their care plans are, they will be ready for adoption. Bonded pairs WILL NOT be split up: don’t even ask. Say hello to Jake and Jesse!

Our website is finally back up, which means we can participate in the Betty White Challenge! If you want to donate to our organization, now you can! Please consider supporting our organization so we can help more dogs like Jake (right, adopted, age 18!) find homes with new friends. http://nawestierescue.org/donate/

Foster dog Guinness is looking dapper and squishy in his dog bed! He has a minor surgery scheduled next week but no biggie. This boy will be ok. What is your Westie doing tonight?

AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION: McKenzie (Mac) is a big snuggler who needs a home with one human and maybe some dog friends. Could that be you? Check out his story and consider adopting this special senior!
LINK: http://nawestierescue.org/portfolio/mckenzie/

North Atlantic Westie Rescue has RE-OPENED! We are now accepting dogs to our traditional rescue program after a long closure due to COVID-19. Hooray! Please welcome our first rescue of 2022: GUINNESS!

IN MEMORIAM: Please join us in celebrating the life of NAWR Patriarch Bunny who passed from this world yesterday. Bunny was one month shy of 21 years old. He was a "hospice dog" who surprised everyone by surviving MRSA when he was rescued by NAWR several years ago. He lived with our founder Karen Sautter Errichetti and her husband Vincent Errichetti. "He was the very best boy a dog mom could ask for, but his cancer had spread too far. We helped him home and he left us peacefully. He is now with his NAWR brothers: Franklin, Kirby, and Jackson. He never knew Wyatt or Casey, but he knows them now." NAWR loves you Bunny.