WHY DO YOU WANT A RESCUE WESTIE?

Do you consider that a rescue Westie is the 'cheaper option'?

If so please do think again.  You may well encounter some behaviour problems with your new friend, at least for a while until he/she feels more secure in their new environment.

House soiling may be a problem for a while (although maybe previously out of character) – how would you react if it soiled the expensive carpet?  Chewing or other destructive habits (used as a displacement activity by the dog to help it cope with the disruption in its life) could prove rather expensive.  Then of course there may be vets' bills brought about by the stress it has to deal with which ultimately affects its health.

Behaviourists' fees, if necessary, don't come cheap either.  All of this could add up to quite a tidy sum of money.

Are you bowing to pressure from the children?

The appeal and visual attraction of the Westie puts it towards the top of a child's list of wants.  Before long however the novelty often begins to wear off.  It is common for Westies to live to 14 or 15 which means a long term commitment.  It is unusual for a child to commit to looking after the dog for its lifetime without leaning rather heavily on a parent or other adult.  Of course, rescue dogs have often had a bad experience with children and may have come in as a result.  No matter how well behaved the child may be, the dog could retain this distrust and could tend to be on the defensive.

Are you motivated by emotion?

Never adopt a dog for emotional reasons alone.  There will then be a tendency to over-compensate for the dog's past and no dog likes to be smothered.  It rarely happens that the dog will be forever grateful for its change in fate and will behave accordingly.  A rescue dog needs respect and understanding, communicating in a way that it understands, with canine values.  Any new situation may be difficult for a nervous or fearful dog to deal with, and cuddles and kisses will only make it feel more threatened and cause an adverse reaction.

SO, HOW DO WE OPERATE?

Sadly, Westies are received into ‘rescue’ for a number of reasons e.g. bereavement, dog not liking a new baby, marriage break-up, owner becoming unable to care for the dog, owner’s circumstances changing.  The list is endless.

All Westies are assessed on arrival and are given the necessary care.

All potential adopters are rigorously home checked by registered volunteers to establish their general suitability for ownership of a rescue dog and are then specifically matched to appropriate dogs.  We do not have a store of dogs needing homes for adopters to choose!  Our priority is to focus on the needs of the dogs, which may not coincide with the wishes of the humans who would like a Westie.

Our aim is to ensure that dogs are placed in permanent homes to avoid future trauma and disruption.  Some of the dogs coming into our care have experienced neglect and often require extreme patience and special care to regain their trust in humans.  Please consider carefully whether you could care for such a dog.

Once adopted, full back-up and support is given to the new carers.  They are also required to undertake that should they become unable to care for the Westie at any stage the dog will be returned to Westie ReHoming.

As a registered charity we ask for an adoption donation to help towards the cost of running Westie ReHoming.

Although we frequently use the term ‘rescue’ when referring to our organisation there is a good reason why, after much deliberation, it was not included in our title.  There is a popular misconception that most of the dogs that come into our care are neglected, unloved, unwanted or abused in some way, and we would like to dispel the myth here and now.  Most of the dogs that come to us do so because their owners realise that they can no longer give them the quality of life that they deserve.  This involves tremendous sacrifice and heartache on the owner’s part and one can only feel respect and admiration that they choose to put the dog’s needs before their own.

ADOPTING A WESTIE

(we advise you to read all the information in this section of the website by clicking on the links at the top of the page)

We recommend that you read "The Rescue Dog" by Gwen Bailey to help you to understand a little more of what you may be taking on and the level of commitment that will be involved before making a decision.  Please pay a visit to her web site at http://www.dogbehaviour.com/ to find out how to purchase her books.  

1. Fill in and send off an Application to Adopt Form.  See below for how to do this.

2. Be patient!  We regret that we do not have the time or resources to acknowledge every application immediately.  Occasionally we may need to ring you to clarify some of your answers/comments on the form.  Some applications we receive are, frankly, unrealistic but if we view your application favourably we will inform you that one of our volunteers will be contacting you to arrange a Home Visit.  This is nothing to worry about, and if any problems should arise during the Visit, we will work with you to resolve any obstacles to your becoming an Adopter.

3. Our volunteer will contact you direct to arrange a mutually suitable time to visit.  This Home Visit does not guarantee that there is currently a Westie available which would suit your particular environment and family situation, but it is another step along the way towards adopting your own Westie - as we often remind people, our priority is to focus on the needs of the dogs, which may not coincide with the wishes of the humans who would like a Westie.

4. You will be informed as soon as a suitable dog becomes available.  As we said, please be patient until the right dog comes along - but above all let us know immediately if you have decided not to proceed with an adoption from us, or if you obtain a dog from another source.  This is MOST important!  We need to remove you from our list straight away, so that a dog is not assigned to your name.

5. We will arrange a suitable date and time for you to collect the dog.  If certain improvements have become necessary to ensure the safety and security of the Westie in your home, and a return visit has not been arranged and carried out, we will need to check that this is satisfactory before we release the dog into your care.

6. You will next be required to fill out an Adoption Form & Declaration, which is a legally-binding document setting out what we require to guarantee the dog's future health, security and happiness with you.  We will ask you to sign this in the presence of our representative, who will make sure you understand every point of the Declaration.

7. You will then be asked to make a Donation to Westie ReHoming, in respect of the many costs incurred in re-homing all our dogs with adopters such as yourself e.g. transportation, vets' bills, grooming, short-term fostering and such-like.  We cannot operate without these donations.  We would obviously expect a higher donation for a young dog with no problems than for an elderly dog, or one needing ongoing veterinary care, but in exceptional circumstances we will waive the donation altogether.  We will be happy to offer guidelines as to what we consider a fair donation for your particular dog. 

Download Application to Adopt Form

You can download an 'Application to Adopt' Form here by right-clicking on the links below, and choosing "Save Target As..." in IE ("Save Link As..." in Firefox).  You will be asked where you wish to save the document.  Once saved, you can open it by clicking on it:

.DOC     .PDF      

OR CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A FORM AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT 

When submitting your Application to Adopt Form

One of the questions we ask on your form is: "Would you be prepared to adopt a dog with an ongoing medical or skin problem?"  Westies have always been susceptible to idiopathic skin problems, but in recent years the rise in incidence has been extraordinary.  At the time of writing around 70% of Westies coming to us have a skin problem to a greater or lesser degree.  Some Westies may have skin problems that are difficult and expensive to treat, whilst others appear to be seasonal and quite manageable.  It is important to realise that even if your Westie does not have a skin problem when it comes to you it does not mean that it will not develop one in the future, at any age.

Sometimes a change in diet, or reducing the dog's stress can make a huge difference, but it usually needs veterinary intervention which can sometimes prove costly.  Over recent years, indifferent breeding has undoubtedly contributed largely to the problem, as has dietary insensitivity to proprietary pet foods (including one that hints that it is the ideal food to feed your Westie!).

Your Westie should be examined daily for possible skin problems, which must be identified and treated professionally in the early stages before it develops into a major problem which could go out of control.