Hi! My name is Smooch, and I am an utterly adorable, sweet, loving, and fun little guy!
Quick Facts:
- Age: 6 years old
- Breed: West Highland White Terrier (Westie)
- Size: about 21 pounds (I’ve lost a couple and could lose a couple more pounds)
- Gender: Male, Neutered
- Good with dogs? Yes
- Good with cats? Unknown
- Good with children? I prefer adults please!
- Special Notes: I am recovering from two ACL knee surgeries (done at Colonial Vet Clinic in Ithaca) and am doing really well!!
Background:
I was raised from puppyhood by a lovely lady in her 90s who took good care of me. I lived in a ranch house with a fenced yard and two other small terriers with whom I loved to play. She had me for 5 years, but as her health began to fail she knew she needed to find me a new home, and with the help of CDR, found me a fabulous family with 2 adults and 2 kids, another dog and a fenced yard!
My new family was thrilled to find me and loves me very much; I have been with them since this past May, 2014 and have shared loads of fantastic times with the adults, the kids, and the other dog in the house. They are the ones who realized I had knee problems and got me the two recent knee surgeries and have helped me recover from both.
They are really sad to have to find a new home for me, but it would be best for me to be in a kid-free home (see information below on why). They are committed to finding me the right home where I can stay for the rest of my life!
Personality:
More than anything, I love to be loved!! I will be thrilled to snuggle next to you on the couch if you let me (oh please do!) and if you want to pet me, all the better! I would be happy to have you pet me endlessly, but if you are convinced that there is something else you need to be doing, I will lay down somewhere and take a nap. I might tap you with my paw to get your attention (because I figure you really would rather pet me than do anything else!, but I will stop and go lay down if you ignore me for a bit. I can take a hint!
I’m a typical terrier so it works better to convince me that it’s my idea to do what you want rather than try to make me do it! That’s not hard because I’ll do pretty much anything for a treat or even a little petting. If you want me to move, for instance, you just have to go where you want me to be, call me over, and give me a couple of pats! I love to be wherever you are and will follow you around much of the time. But if you settle down somewhere, so will I!
I like to play with my soft stuffed sheep that my girl bought for me — I will pounce on it, carry it around and give it a good shake! Too cute! I like to run up and down the backyard fence with the dogs next door. I love, love, love to take walks and I walk very nicely on a leash! I have little legs so it’s easy to keep up with me, and I seem content even if we just walk around the block. I also love to lay in the grass in the backyard, especially in the sunshine (and my mom says I look darn cute doing it!).
I’m not a fussy eater. I’m doing really well on the Natural Balance food that mom feeds us because my big brother has food allergies — my coat is so soft and shiny now. It’s best to feed me on a schedule or I might overeat if there is food available all of the time. I get excited at meal time! I do a little dance and might bark a few times to share my enthusiasm with you. I also adore chewy, meat-flavored treats!
I will bark if I hear something outside that I think you need to know about. If you call me over and acknowledge what I’ve shared with you, I will usually stop barking pretty quickly. I also bark with excitement if I think we are about to go for a walk or get a treat (my dad gives me and my doggie brother baby carrots every morning so I bark my enthusiasm when I see him come down the stairs)!! Oh, and I bark at the dogs next door when we are outside at the same time (but they bark at me, too, so it seems only fair). Other than that, I don’t see any real reason to use my voice and am a pretty quiet little guy.
I am house trained but don’t have a clear signal to let my people know when I need to go out. When my family is home during the day, they take me out every few hours. I haven’t had any accidents while I’m home alone from about 8:30 am to 3:30 pm during weekdays. I also have no problem sleeping through the night without needing to go out.
Because my new family is gone all day, I stay on the first floor of the house (living room, dining area, kitchen) with my big doggie brother. I’m a well behaved little guy. I don’t chew the furniture, shoes, or anything else that I shouldn’t! I pretty much just hang out and then greet my family at the door with a waggy tail when they come home.
I have hair that’s needs to be clipped every couple of months. I’m well behaved at the groomer’s. If you brush me every few days (which I don’t mind at all), I shed very little. I look very handsome with my Westie haircut!
So why does adorable me need to find a new home? My occasional nipping (5 times since they got me in May) is not a good mix with the kids in the house. Even though they are minor nips (half the time it doesn’t leave a scratch or hurt), any nipping is really not ok with young kids in the house. My nipping is primarily related to either being in pain or being startled (e.g., the other dog falls off the couch on top of me and I nip the girl sitting alongside me; I’m in a lot of knee pain and the little girl was petting me too much so I nipped her head; I was in a deep sleep and awoke suddenly with a startle and growled/nipped the little boy standing next to me on the leg).
I am a sweetheart in all other ways…I do not guard my food or my toys. I’m not possessive about affection, so if you pet another dog, I might want petting too, but I’m happy to have you pet us both at the same time. The little girl in my house wants you to know that above all, I am a sweet, cute, happy boy, and she really wishes that she could keep me. She has already bought me a new toy and treats to take with me when I go to my new home and is planning a going-away party for me.
Cohabitation:
I live with my mom, dad, two children, and a 12-year-old, 60-pound Portuguese Water Dog. He and I get along fine though he’s old and not so interested in playing with me. I would probably like another small dog to play with!
Medical:
My first lady loved me very much but wasn’t able to give me much exercise. I would go out in my fenced yard but didn’t get to take walks. I also had access to my food all the time. When my new family brought me home, I was overweight and out of shape. I started taking walks, running in my fenced yard, and going up and down the stairs. I lost weight, which was great for me, but the knees on my back legs had trouble with all of this new activity. I had to have surgery on both back knees for ruptured ACL ligaments. The vet also fixed my knee caps, which would move in and out of place (it’s a condition called luxating patellas which I was born with and causes some arthritis). The good news is that my knees are better than new! I feel so good that my mom has to stop me from running around so I can heal properly! Right now, I can only go outside on a leash for brief potty breaks but soon I will be able to run and play again. I’m being weaned off the pain medication and will be off the anti-inflammatory medication soon, too. The vet says that it would be good for me to continue to take a supplement that will help my joints; since I’m a little guy, I only need half a tablet and the big bottle will last many months. I’ve had all my shots and am otherwise healthy. I get Frontline Plus and Sentinel monthly.
Summary:
I’m a sweet, friendly, adorable boy with lots of love to give who will bring loads of joy to a home with adults! I can’t wait to meet you!
