Connie & Boomer

Toby

The Westie Family

Several years ago I adopted a Westie with awful skin problems from a local dog rescue group. He had been found at the animal shelter, tied to the door knob - his collar was grown into his neck, he had an awful skin infection, ear infection and a chicken bone stuck in his throat. They weren't going to let me adopt him but I persuaded them to as I had had a Westie many years before and was familiar with the skin problems, etc.

That was Boomer.

I had Boomer a while but he started getting lonely, so I contacted North Texas Westie Rescue, looking for a play mate for Boomer. I spoke with Marvin Katz and he came out to the house to do an interview and inspection. Some period of time went by and I didn't hear anything from him. Then one afternoon he called me and said there was a Westie located in Tyler, Texas, and his human dad had been put in the hospital with kidney failure and was not expected to live. The next door neighbor had been given permission to try to find his dog a new home. They contacted Marvin and he contacted me. Was I interested? You bet!

That was Toby.

I put Boomer in the truck and we drove to Tyler in the rain the next Saturday morning. We met the neighbor in a parking lot just off of I-20. The neighbor had piled his car chock full of blankets, dog toys, food, crate, etc. As soon as I pulled into the lot, he dumped everything into the back of my truck and thrust Toby into my arms and left. As Toby was not neutered, he and Boomer got very "bristly" with each and I had to tie Toby to the door handle of the truck to keep him from going into the back seat after Boomer. All I could think was "What have I gotten myself into?" Monday morning we went to the vet and Toby got fixed!! Well after that, he and Boomer were inseparable. We went along like that for 2 years when Boomer went into congestive heart failure and had to Rainbow Bridge. Toby and I were lost. We called my friend who lives just outside of Atlanta and works with the Morgan County Humane Society and she found a new addition for us in just 3 days - a Westie/Maltese mix. Then she put herself on a plane, put the dog in a carrier, and flew to Texas. Trebby (short for Truvioso which is Portuguese for trouble and boy how that fit) arrived at DFW airport in one piece and just full of himself. I pulled him out of the carrier and he growled at me. Great start!

Welcome Trebby.

Trebby and Toby got along great - Toby just growled and "harrumphed" at him and Trebby jumped and played and tore things up and licked Toby's face and ran and ran. So I thought …. Hmmm…. I should probably get a play mate for Trebby because by then Toby was 12 and a little grumpy. So…….I called Marvin again. Did he know of any rescues in need of a home? Why yes! Enter Heidi, who later became Maggie or "Maggie the Magic Muffin, Queen of America." Maggie was surrendered by a breeder - who knows how many babies she had delivered. She was scared of everything - plastic bags are the worst. She didn't know about cookies and sleeping on the bed and grass ….. so much to learn and see.

So while we were all adjusting, Toby's health began to decline ever so slowly. Over the period of a couple of years he lost most of his hearing, began having difficulty getting up on to the bed (so we added stairs) and had dental problems. About a month ago, I lost Toby to just plain old age - he was almost 15. I still miss him every day. In the meanwhile, I am busy with Trebby and Maggie and always thankful to North Texas Westie Rescue for finding Toby and Maggie - I am so lucky they found me - they make my life so much richer.