Westie Girls

We lost our precious little Westie Ditto recently. We were bracing ourselves to the fact after her veterinarian told us a couple of years ago that she had an enlarged heart and a limited time to live. The vet said three to six months, but she made it about two years. And then she was gone.

So, the saga of two old people with pups or too old people with pups begins.

Let me explain how this happened. For those of you who knew Ditto, you’ll understand when I say her death left a really big hole in our hearts. I needed another dog to fill that hole.

We gave serious consideration to a rescue dog. And an older dog, like us. A different breed of dog. But we’ve had a Westie in our home for over 30 years. We know Westie behavior, traits, good and bad. We needed something familiar, we’re too old to learn much new. Joyce was fairly emphatic about we get a Westie and fairly emphatic about it being young so we could train it from the beginning.

We got Ditto in cold weather. Shivering in the cold while waiting for a pup to do its grass business is not pleasant. This seemed like a good time of year, so we began looking.

We found a little Westie pup ad on-line that was older than just weaned. Twelve weeks old! That age can hold their pee longer. That age doesn’t like to soil their nest. That age learns really quickly. That was Ditto’s age when we got her. That Westie might be the one.

We went for a short Pumpkin trip and just happened to be passing through the town where this little girl on the Internet had been born and was waiting for a home.

That morning, drinking coffee, Joyce said, “I’m going to suggest something to you and I need you to talk me out of it. When she suggested we could stop and see the little Westie, I didn’t talk her out of it. I felt my face smile, and my heart lighten. I told her, "Let’s do it."

When we got there, the seller knew her business. She had two Westie female pups. She said to us, ”I just happen to have two Westie girls and thought I’d let you choose.”

We watched them scamper and play together, they come running to both of us and then Joyce made the mistake of asking the seller if she’d make a special price for both. I could go into a long description of the back and forth, but will simply say, we got them both for an exceptional price. And it simply is that Ditto left such a big hole in our hearts that it took two to fill it.

On the way home, the car sickness hit. Funny how one puked and almost immediately the other did, too, all over Joyce’s lap where she was snuggling them for reassurance. They were so little and so scared…and Joyce was so yucky.

Our sunroom is the perfect place for little untrained puppies. We got home early evening. They were hungry and thirsty so we watered and fed them and got them settled in. Put them on Ditto’s big cushy pillow. Turned out the light. Dropped into bed, exhausted, just like the pups.