At the end of each year, we conduct a survey to determine how many Scotties were rescued during the previous year.  We count Scotties that were helped by either one of the STCA Regional Club rescue groups or one of the independent Scottie Rescue affiliates listed on our website.  We are pleased to say that the efforts of this group helped change the lives of 408 Scotties that came into the rescue program in 2003.  Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey and to those who helped our breed find new families to love and care for them.  We also appreciate those on standby, ready to help at a moment’s notice.

Other interesting statistics are that more of these rescues were male than female, most were between the ages of 3-6, and the majority were relinquished by their owner directly to rescue.  This is a good sign that people are becoming more educated about breed rescue and how to contact us, and we hope this trend will continue.  Those of us who know the breed and have applicants experienced with Scotties, will be better able to make a great placement for our Scotties in need of new homes.  41 of last year’s rescues were between 9-12 and an additional 20 were over 12.  This is not pleasant news, as it indicates many people view their dogs as disposable when they age.  The good news is that they were welcome into our program and we were able to find enough loving homes for them within our own rescue community and with our applicants, to enjoy their golden years.  79 of them included Scotties that came primarily to us from Puppymill closings or releases.  We were very happy to have been able to place them into loving homes so they could experience the joys of freedom and love despite coming from such terrible backgrounds.

We are always working to improve our program and our communication, and have made great strides in this direction this last year.  Our daily Petfinder scan and summary, our online application form, and our rescue email group are tools that are continuing to make us very effective.  We welcome individuals who are willing to assist us in rescuing Scotties.  There are many ways to help, whether it be transporting, fostering, donations, grooming, reference checking or doing home visits, and we encourage you to contact your local rescue coordinator and see how you might fit in.  If you are in an area where there is no local coordinator, please contact the National rescue chairperson to see how you could help us extend our geographic coverage.

We have many rescue stories to share with you and will be changing them periodically, so please keep returning to read all about them.

Ahhhhhh, the Bee-yoo-tee-ful Miss Fiona.  Are there really words to adequately describe our most special, precious, and, yes, inspirational wee lass.  Fiona, who defied all odds and is still “tooling around” on earth.  Fiona, who seems to come down with every life threatening event that makes those who love her do the bracing of their hearts in fear.  Fiona, who inspires all through her refusal to give up the living in the face of each medical crisis, for to do so would give up the love her survival led her to know.  It is indeed a lesson in the strength of the spirit, the strongest of which is found in unconditional love.

Found wandering the streets of Tuscaloosa, AL,
the local humane society had already decided to do the “euthanasia” thing within the next 24 hours; having decided her condition was beyond survival possibilities.  See, this was the summer of endless 100 degree plus days without rain.  We will never know how she survived–perhaps a precursor to the “will to live” we came to know possessed our little girl.

Two ASTRA members arranged the release.  Three baths and a day later, Fiona arrived in Montgomery.  Kathleen was in grad school; she could do the continuous vigil so necessary.  Our wee lass arrived with hair falling out in clumps, flaky skin, flea bitten, pneumonia, “wormy”, extremely dehydrated and starved, blind from the starvation…and then there was her heart.  But first there had to be a name!  The night before, “The Secret of Roan Inish” was the film of choice: an Irish tale of a little girl, Fiona, full of the belief that a life thought lost was really alive.  Kathleen and Segrid’s hearts were full of the hope that in a name was the promise of survival: When asked “what shall we call her?” Kathleen responded “Fiona”…it just seemed meant to be…

Oh how our Fiona has the stuff of survival deep within her soul. 

The prayers were given with the want of her to live long enough to know what love really is all about; that is all we asked…  But when told her heart was dangerously slow, the fear and the shiver of death seemed to do the hovering over her wee body.  How could we afford the pacemaker that may be the answer to her knowing love?  Internet friends rallied and we had six offered within one week.  God must have looked down and smiled upon her: the pacemakers would not be needed!  Phew!  Pills could meet the task of keeping the wee heart pumping doing the giving and receiving of love.  Slowly, ever so slowly, life was grabbed by the Fiona girl… grabbed in the fullest.  It seemed as she discovered care, compassion, and unconditionality, she struggled to embrace it all and not give up with the collapses and future relapses.  Fiona became the “Poster Scottie” of never giving up for the answers are found in the living.

As health infused the Fiona, the question of a forever home had to find the answer.  ASTRA gave a try, but her health needs and the medical costs proved to be grand barriers.  And of course, the most perfect home had to be found.  We looked around and discovered the selfishness deep within ourselves: the perfect home could not be found. 
         See, the Fiona had decided she would own us, boyos and all J. 
And truth be told, our hearts had enveloped all of her.  Segrid and Kathleen became Fiona’s forever mams.

From the streets of Tuscaloosa, to the owner of 2 mams, the Bee-yoo-tee-ful Miss Fiona, the wee lass, the rescue many could not imagine would even live 3 days, cuddles the love given each day.  We know her days are numbered, oh how we know.  She takes 13 pills a day, but for an unknown reason she just is not ready to give up this thing called life.

We find now the wet stuff of the heart filling our eyes as we oft gaze upon our little girl, for we have the knowledge of the near future…  But Fiona, Fiona only knows love, and that is how it should be.

Segrid Kasuba
Alabama Scottish Terrier Rescue Assn. (ASTRA)
An Alabama non-profit corporation qualified under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

ADDENDUM:
The above was written 2 days before Fiona was to cross the Rainbow Bridge.  She did so in peace and dignity with her 2 mams’ hands upon her wee body while she was gently nudged to the Bridge.  She arrived awash with tears of love covering her soul as they glistened upon her like that most precious of all jewels, diamonds, for she was indeed a diamond found among the rough.  I want to dedicate this rescue story to our wee girl…The Bee-yoo-tee-ful Miss Fiona.  She journeyed onward until 24 August 2003…  And as her precious body was laid to rest, the garden bells rang…  We had the intake of breath for we knew what the hearing of the bells meant…our little angel had received her wings…she hovers with us awaiting, as do we, when we shall all be together again…  And she sits with our Shamus, Fergus, McGregor, Darcey, McGee, McGyver, Guinness the First, and Poteen telling them how we have never forgotten them nor have never stopped the loving…new angels at the Bridge do this you know…they give the assurances to those already there and to those who have yet to arrive…

McGregor was sealed in a box and left on the steps of the Austin SPCA Shelter in November 2003.  Because this shelter does not accept drop-offs, he was sent to Austin Animal Control. This poor old Scottie was extremely overweight and had nails that curled around making it very difficult for him to stand up, never mind walk. Obviously, he had been laying in his own mess for a long time.

"... the first order of business was to cut back the nails
and clip off all the dirty matted hair."

The staff at Town Lake Animal Control is rescue-friendly and called Scottie Rescue immediately. He was given Rimadyl to ease his pain during the three day period until he could be released. As soon as we had him, the first order of business was to cut back the nails and clip off all the dirty matted hair. He then had the first of many baths, and the second, and the third. We immediately started him on supplements for the arthritis and dry skin, and put him on a strict diet of small amounts of kibble with lots of green beans and vitamins. The look on his face when he realized he could stand up and walk without pain was a joy to behold.

We have no idea how old this dog is but he had obviously given up until we rescued him and gave him a new lease on life. The next step was a trip to the vet for teeth cleaning and the removal of some growths and he sailed through that. As the weight dropped off and he found he could walk again, the sparkle came back to the cloudy eyes. He grew braver and would venture around the backyard sniffing and checking everything out.

After several weeks, he could walk to the end of the street and back and everything was an adventure. It was time for McGregor to move to his permanent retirement home and just before Christmas, he left to live out the rest of his life with Aggie, her 10-year-old Scottie Sweetie, and a kitten named Pepe who thinks McGregor is his best friend. The weight has dropped off and he is a shadow of his former self. In spite of not being able to see or hear too well, he manages very well and enjoys his daily walk around the neighborhood and patrolling his backyard.

"One old Scottie boy now has his dignity back and will spend his old age in comfort."

We are extremely grateful to Town Lake Animal Control, Austin, Texas for notifying us about this boy and letting us take him. So many other city pounds and shelters would have euthanized him.

Daphne Branzelle
Texas Scottie Rescue Fund, Inc.

"...she had recently bitten their daughter’s ankle."

Meg was a 15-year-old, female Scottie that was turned in to the STC of Greater NY Scottie Rescue program by her owners.  She was mostly gray now, but the owners (two professionals) said she was black when they had originally purchased her as a puppy.  They told us that they wanted to turn her in because she had recently bitten their daughter’s ankle.  When pressed for some additional details about the incident they admitted that the daughter had "accidentally" kicked her in the head under the kitchen table.  But they insisted they were scared that she had become a biter and would repeat the incident again.  Actually, she had just become old and needed some quiet time and a safe place to rest.

When we entered the house and were brought to meet her, Meg was found in a ball in the corner of the laundry room.  There was no food or water in the area.  There were no dog toys in the house and she was gated in the laundry room with no view except for the washer and dryer. They said she occasionally had accidents, so they kept her this way most of the time. 

Richard sat down on the floor next to Meg, rubbed her head and spoke to her quietly.  She seemed to enjoy the attention, probably for the first time in many months. We found out all we could about her background, general health and medical history.  After signing our release forms, we made arrangements to take her home with us.

Because of her advanced age,
Meg was never actually placed with a new owner

Meg evaluated very well from the very beginning -- She got along with the other dogs in our house.  She was very spry for her age and was always very affectionate when given any attention.  Boy could she walk on a leash, I had problems keeping up with her!  We spent several days working on Meg's grooming.  She desperately needed a haircut, nail trim and ear wax removal.  It can be very hard on an older dog to try and do all of this in one sitting, so it took several days and a lot of patience to get her back into shape. 

Because of her advanced age, Meg was never actually placed with a new owner  but instead went to live with a rescue co-worker in Upstate NY.  She was treated as a permanent addition to the family.  Meg didn't get to spend very much time with her new family, but she lived out her remaining 6 months with lots of daily attention.  She was safe with no fear of being kicked again and she was free to choose quiet relaxation or easy access to fresh air and the wonderful outdoor scenery in Upstate NY.  Unfortunately, she went into kidney failure quite unexpectedly and passed away very quickly. 

Meg was a sweetheart and is missed by all of us who she touched in her brief time with STC of Greater NY Scottie rescue.

Erica Cerny
STC of Grt NY Scottie Rescue