On a sunny afternoon in 2002, Westley arrived with the rep from Westie Rescue. He was coming to be fostered until a family could be found for him. He was so cute with his shaved haircut and smiling face, it was instant love. I was given a bottle of pills and told he had Addison's disease, but that certainly was not a deterrent.

With help from the internet and our wonderful vet we learned to deal with the disease and his blindness in one eye. Cody, our Havanese, welcomed Wes and took him under his wing. They became great friends and played together every day.

Wes was a joy right from the beginning and when no one wanted to adopt him, we took him on as our full time Westie. He was a typical Westie with a great nose to find rabbits. He was able to flush them for Cody to catch so they made a great team. Wes, however, did not have Cody's love for agility. Loved doing tunnels, which he would do from both directions, meeting Cody in the middle, but that was it. He also had Calvin and Beau next door to play with and winters with Nikky while his family was in Florida.

When Cody passed away in 2008, Wes was grief stricken. He developed diabetes and eventually lost most of the sight in his other eye. While playing one day he tore his ACL so off for surgery followed by a second one several months later. He was such an easy Westie that his recovery was uneventful and he went on just as before. He later got quite arthritic so had to slow down.

He also didn't hesitate when taken to the vet because everyone there knew him and loved him because of his great personality. In his last year, he had developed a gagging cough that was getting much worse near the end. We did not put him through endless tests because of the stress and his age. He was such a trooper that he would cough and carry on like nothing was wrong. Right up until the end he was a blessing to have around.

He went outside on August 1st, came in, laid down and went to sleep. His ashes will be with us forever so he will only be away playing in heaven with all his best friends.

We would like to thank Dr. John Brajkovich for his dedication, excellent care and patience with our wonderful Wes. He was always there when we had a crisis.

Corrie from Westies in Need took over the Westie Walks and has made it into the most attended event for Westies ever and makes sure every rescued Westie has a home.

Rest in Peace Westley. You will be in our hearts forever.