I was out for a walk with my son Jonathan and Pepper our Westie Dog by the sea shore where we live. I met a neighbour called John who I hadn’t seen for ages. I was very surprised to see him on his own because he has a black Labrador and the 2 of them are inseparable.
Naturally I enquired about Barney and his face dropped. I knew something was terribly wrong. His reply was that he had to put Barney down because he had developed cancer and it had come on so quickly. He didn’t want his friend to suffer.
I said to John that I was so sorry. He knew that I meant it as all dog lovers do. After all it is the passing of one of your family. Non dog owners can’t understand and I feel that they are the losers of such love and loyalty.
The news hurt Jonathan because he always would play with Barney and make such a fuss of him.
It got me to thinking how long our Pepper would live to. The Westie in general should live to around 15 years if probably looked after and also if no serious health issue arise.
He is now 6 years and I still can’t believe he is that old. Maybe it’s a sign of me getting old, because my kids seemed to have grown up in the blink of an eye.
I give Pepper a big hug when I got home and he got a couple of extra treats also. Don’t want to take him for granted and will monitor his health checks with the proper grooming for the west highland terrier. He always looks like a little puppy again, every time he returns from the groomers. Have to also start building up the westie photos again.
So for all dog lovers, please remember to give your pet a hug today
(Disclaimer: Any information contained in this site relating to various medical, health and fitness conditions of Westies or other animals and their treatments is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own veterinarian. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing the health of any animal. You should always consult and check with your own vet or veterinarian.)
