| Our first Westie, Kassie, passed away in November 2003 after being a part of our lives for 12 years. We weren’t sure that we really wanted to get another dog since it was so hard on us when she left. Every night Gary and I would miss her greeting us at the door when we came home after a hard day’s work, and going to bed with us at night. We could always count on Kassie to brighten up our day regardless of how bad we thought it had been. In February, Gary had gone out of town for the night and I came home and experienced the loneliness of not having Kassie there to keep me company. I told Gary the next day that I was ready to get another Westie. Our neighbor down the street asked us if we knew about rescue groups for Westies. I had never heard of Westie Rescue, but went online to Westie Rescue.com and filled out an application and they sent it to Marv in Dallas. Then I realized that it wasn’t going to happen quickly and I would have to be very patient and wait for my opportunity to come along. But before you know it, I got a call from Kathy with Houston Westie Rescue saying she had a Westie who had malassezia and would I be interested in adopting him. Well first of all, HE was a male and second of all, I never had heard of malassezia and had no clue of what kind of disease he had. She also told me his name was “Wally”! Now what kind of person would name a dog Wally?!? Then she emailed a picture of Wally and from that moment on it was love at first sight!!! Kathy gave me tons of information on malassezia and I started researching it on the Internet to find out all the information I could. WestieMed provided very helpful information on their website regarding the treatment of malassezia. Within a month or so, we finally had the opportunity to pick up Wally for a two-week trial. Well the two-week trial has turned into a lifetime of love, kisses, obedience school, and a male Westie whose name is still “Wally”. Once we got Wally home, we kept up the routine of weekly baths with Malaseb shampoo, keeping him on a special diet, and making sure he got his medication. I found a great vet for Wally who knows all about Malassezia and Wally’s last checkup was great! He got an A+! We are very thankful to Westie Rescue for allowing us to adopt such a wonderful little man! And by the way, we found out why his family before us named him Wally. Wally makes this cute little sound with his voice that sounds just like he is saying Wally. It sounds like WAAAA…WAA.WAA…..WAAA! (you really have to hear him to appreciate it!) Thank you Westie Rescue for allowing us to be Wally’s parents! He is the light of our lives!! Gary and Debi Neely |
| WALLY'S STORY |
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