Glennie and Molly
(Painted by Suzanne Renaud)
(See their products at CafePress)
Glennie and Molly
(Painted by Suzanne Renaud)
(See their products at CafePress)
I retired in 1996 when my job moved to another state and I chose not to go with it. After a year of retirement and with lots of research under my belt, I began to look for a Westie to share my life. I have always dreamed of having a dog but waited until I retired because I knew I couldn't stand to leave her every day to go to work. This was before I was on the internet and information wasn't easy to obtain. I was so fortunate to learn of the West Highland White Terrier Club of Southeastern Michigan and so wasn't even tempted by the pet shops and puppy brokers out there. Molly came from a Club member in early January of 1998. She has given my retired life a joy and a purpose that I never had in my "career" life.
As a member of the Club, I agreed to take on the job of doing Rescue when Molly was about six months old. At first we simply tried to match people with Westies needing homes. But as time went on there were instances when it became clear that a Westie might well die if I did not step in proactively. So we finally decided to foster. We found out that fostering can be fun. It can also be a challenge. It can bring great joy and a feeling of accomplishment. But it can also be sad. You see the best in people but you also see the worst. But at the end of the day, you know there are some little white dogs out there living wonderful lives that they could not have had except for you!
Molly is a great help with fostering. She is a "nurturer". Molly seems able to assess each dog as they come in and decide what they need. Sometimes she becomes great friends with them and sometimes she just stays off to the side and watches, intervening only when it seems like they need help. For instance, when we brought our first foster home, we went into the back yard and I told him to "go pee". Of course, he didn't know what I was talking about! Molly watched for a bit and then walked over to him. She squatted right in front of him and peed!! He then did just what nature requires...he peed in the same spot and I was able to praise him for doing what I asked!!! I've also noticed that often, when she doesn't play with the dog, it turns out that they have a urinary tract infection. Between Molly and me, we took in about 14 dogs, got them fixed up medically, watched them grow emotionally as they became comfortable with us, and then found them wonderful families. As each one left, Molly and I happily returned to our little family of two.
But then one day a little seven-month-old boy was found abandoned in a Detroit alley. It was a warm spring day and he was left in a plastic crate with no water. We don't know how long he was there before he was found and turned in to a nearby clinic. They got him to us. It turned out he was terrified of men. This was when Rolling Rescue stepped in. A truck driver named Mike Hankins took Glennie on a three-week trip in his cab. Glennie learned to trust and bond with a man during this time. When he came back he had made progress but was still pretty fragile. Molly and I took him on daily outings to give him new experiences and help him meet men in a non-threatening way. Glennie was able to use Molly as his 'bellwether'. He relied on her to show him what was safe. Glennie soon came to adore his Molly and after about three weeks, Molly let me know that Glennie was not going to go anywhere!! He belongs to her.
We adopted Glennie in July of 2001 and immediately enrolled him into the Rochester Hills Humane Society obedience classes. He started out with a lot of fear but the instructors there worked so hard; Linda and the men (Jess and Bill) gave him special attention and really brought him out of his shell. Then they introduced him to agility equipment. What a little star he was. He just loved the contact equipment and his confidence grew.
We have continued in obedience, going on to the Birmingham Dog Training School, the Canine Community Center, Northfield Dog Training as well as some work with Moe Foley at ARRF . Both Westies are now officially 'Canine Good Citizens'. (May 2007, see Molly's CD page .)And both are working (or maybe I should say 'playing') in agility. Molly is a bit ahead of Glennie because he needed some time to mature and gain more confidence. (Not about the equipment but about those other big dogs running around loose behind his back). Glennie may have the physical build to eventually be even better than Molly in this sport but he is still working on "focus". He spends a lot of time worrying about things. Once he gets over this, I expect him to be very good at Agility. He is certainly always the fastest Westie in the backyard! ( Click here to see their first agility trial.)
( Click here to see the 2nd trial where they earned 3 titles!)
And( Click here to see the trial where Glennie got his NAP title.)
January 2004, Miss Molly obtained two titles, NAP (Novice Agility Preferred) and NJP (Novice Jumpers with weaves Preferred) and began working in the Open Class. Miss Molly clearly enjoys running the courses and knows that, Q or NQ, she sure looks cute doing it! Glennie obtained the NJP title and moved up to Open in jumpers and has a leg in Standard. This was a magic weekend for him. His fears evaporated and he ran like the wind! He would have had 2 legs in standard except that his mom touched the down box and disqualified one run. In two 3-day trials they have racked up 10 legs and 9 placement ribbons!!!
May 2004 Glennie got his third leg in Novice Standard Preferred and his title. Now they will both run in Open. This trial, Glennie suddenly decided to really RUN! I've never learned to run with a FAST dog, so now I will have to figure this out! We just hope he continues to run like the wind!!
As of August 2004 Miss Molly has completed her Open Standard Preferred title and will now run in Excellent A. Glennie has two legs in Open Standard and one in Open Jumpers.
Molly and Glennie with their ribbons after the Jan 2004 show
Both are doing Earthdog. They passed Intro and as of November 2005, Miss Molly has earned her Master Earthdog title and got an Irondog certificate on the same day (passed both Masters and Senior on one day). Glennie is having trouble understanding what he is supposed to do when he reaches those rats, although he works quite well in the backyard. I think he really wants to have Molly beside him when he hunts. But in 2005 he passed Intro with lots of barking and I know he will be a jr. earthdog soon!
In the fall of 2004 we began obedience training at the Northfield Dog Training Center in Ann Arbor. They are both doing quite well. Molly seems to like obedience and has even decided that she will retrieve a dumbell. Glennie likes it and seems to improve when he gets into the ring. Both need a lot of encouragement right now but hopefully they will be more and more independent as they get more experience. We entered our first Rally trials at Novi in January. Molly came out of it with a new title, RN (Rally Novice). Glennie got two legs but didn't get the third because he spotted the judge and "froze". We don't know if he is afraid of the judge, guarding against this stranger in his ring or if he is just hoping for treats! But when he spots a judge in any ring, he tends to freeze and stare the judge down! On February 11, 2005, he got his third leg at a match in Toledo. Molly also got her first Advanced leg that day so they are both moving up! At the Sportsmen's Trials in February 2005, Molly got two more Advanced Legs and became a Rally Advanced Westie! Glennie got his first Advanced leg and is on his way.
September, Labor Day weekend, both Molly and Glennie completed their RE (Rally Excellent) Titles at Belleville and on the last day when there was no title pressure, they gave their best ever ring performances. We have begun working on the RAE title....then, hopefully, on to Novice Obedience!
Click here to see some Rally photos from Novi.
Glennie and Molly have divided up the fostering chores. Molly sits back and observes and engages the foster when she feels it is appropriate. But Glennie jumps right in and becomes friend and taskmaster. At first I thought he was 'jealous' and not being very nice but our behaviorist friend, Deb Duncan, Come,Sit,Stay...Canine Etiquette) has helped me to understand that he is 'teaching' the newcomer how to act in a pack. I have learned to stay out of it and let the Westies do much of the work.
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