North Atlantic Westie Rescue

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Newburyport, MA
North Atlantic Westie Rescue

Dedicated to finding, rehabilitating, and re-homing homeless West Highland White Terriers

North Atlantic Westie Rescue, Inc., is an all-volunteer, private organization incorporated in Massachusetts. North Atlantic Westie Rescue’s mission is to find, rehabilitate, and place homeless West Highland White Terriers in permanent homes where they can be the best dog they can be. None of its volunteers receive a salary for their work, often contributing funds out of their own pocket to ensure

the lives of unwanted Westies are saved. North Atlantic Westie Rescue’s mission will be accomplished when there are no more unwanted Westies in need of good homes.

03/20/2024

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

03/19/2024

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!

02/27/2024

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!

02/26/2024

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!)

02/17/2024

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!

02/15/2024

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!

02/14/2024

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!

02/14/2024

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!

01/03/2024

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!

12/12/2023

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.

11/11/2023

05/17/2023

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!

04/02/2023

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

03/29/2023

03/09/2023

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.

01/29/2023

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/.

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.

01/23/2023

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!!!

🎉🐾💗

12/14/2022

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!

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

Address

Newburyport, MA
01950

Telephone

+16175483646

Website

http://www.nawestierescue.org/

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Videos

You would never guess she has two holes in her heart and only had a few weeks to live. Our ELLA HOLLY has lived well beyond her expiration date and is THRIVING. If you donated to support her care, she’s alive because of you. Please SHARE with your friends to show them one can make a real difference and save lives.

NAWR alum Riley, formerly Boston, is a SWIMMER! We have few dogs in our program that knew how to swim. He’s one of three that we know of. Do your dogs swim?

Holly has two holes in her heart and was not expected to live beyond a few months, so we accepted her into our program as a puppy. That was basically a year ago. Watch the whole video. She has learned a trick! Hospice is sometimes a long process. We are proud of the fact we are one of the only Westie Rescues with a functional hospice program. Your donations have made that possible! THANK YOU FROM HOLLY!

Tissue alert! Miss Donna had her first trip to the beach! Despite a terrible injury that healed wrong and was untreated many years ago, she’s getting around well with her friends. You’ll see two of our alumni in this video. Duncan and Cosmo: Donna actually has several boyfriends!

A lot has changed since our Cindy Lou was viciously attacked by a Great Dane, fracturing her rib cage. We actually thought she might never recover psychologically even if her body healed. It was as if she lost the will to live. Well, little lady. You’ve come a long way. You have...POMITUDE. You tell those guinea hens where to go with your big loud voice. Just keep it clean. This is a family friendly page.

Melvin is definitely feeling better......enough to grab a toy with his cone on. Thanks to all who have donated and sent their prayers. https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-melvin-with-his-emergency-surgery

HELP MELVIN, PLEASE SHARE: Our hospice director and myself went to our emergency vet tonight because Melvin’s eye LITERALLY fell out of his head. We don’t want to scare you but the amount of blood was ridiculous. The amount of pain he was in was obvious. Our vet put the eye back in but it no longer functions. Melvin is heavily medicated and is not in pain now. He will be hospitalized overnight and then will have eye removal surgery in the morning. It’s his left eye. We are a small rescue. This surgery will clear us out of funds at the end of your fiscal year. December is the month where we get the most calls to surrender, and we will have to turn dogs away without help: so please share and donate to our fundraiser, set up by our board member Alicia DiDuca. Thank you for your generosity. https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-melvin-with-his-emergency-surgery

Why We Haven't Been Posting Hey everyone. It's Karen, your lowly Executive Director. I want to apologize for not posting recently. I'm usually really good at keeping you all up to date with the wonderful rescue work of our organization. We have a lot of news, so stay tuned for that. For now, a personal update. Three of my four dogs, all alumni of NAWR, have passed away since January. THREE. As hardened as I am to the ups and downs we see in rescue, losing three of my own dogs has been difficult. They may be well known to some of you: Kirbus Maximus, Jackson, and Franklin. My dogs were some of the sickest, most challenging dogs we have ever had in rescue. Between them, my husband and I managed TWO cases of Westie Lung disease, Cushings, one case of Addison's, diabetes, severe IBD, lymphoma, and aggression. I don't know why they all had to pass away in such a short time, but the years I had with them made me a stronger person, a more patient wife and mother, and a better rescuer. If you have ever rescued a dog, you know that they all come with some sort of baggage. In my case, my boys carried some of the most extreme baggage dogs could have. Kirby was a stud dog for a commercial breeding facility. Jackson was abandoned by two owners in a row and one of the most aggressive dogs we have ever seen in our program. Franklin lived OUTSIDE for multiple years. I have nothing good to say to or about the people who had my boys before me, and I do not feel compelled to blow sunshine up their skirts. If only you had given them to me when they were born, for they deserved FULL lives. Every moment we had with them, all the biting and pain, might have been different had you done better. I am proud to say they were my sons and we gave them everything we had. You should have done the same, but you didn't. My dogs have forgiven you, but I never will. My fourth dog, Bunny, is my remaining dog and he is 17 years old. Bunny's heart is broken, as Franklin was his very best friend. I am

Sweeney has the best wiggle. Just sayin’. He’s available for adoption, but at 13 we haven’t gotten a lot of serious inquiries. We don’t know how anyone could resist this wiggle!

Miss Bella is doing well in her foster home and gets around really well despite the fact she has three legs. Isn’t she cute? PLEASE NOTE: Bella is under evaluation and NOT available for adoption at this time.

This pink coat on legs is Lilly Bug, our hospice Yorkie and special baby girl! We can’t believe how good she is doing despite being in kidney failure. Her foster mom hand feeds her every day and lets her walk outside at her own pace. Isn’t she just precious in her coat?