ABERDEEN SCOTTISH TERRIER RESCUE....IN ACTION

Yesterday afternoon we received word that Earlene Holmstrom, the coordinator of Aberdeen Scottish Terrier Rescue, was about an hour away from Vancouver with a carload of very dirty little Scottish Terriers. Earlene had been working with other rescue groups in an attempt to give assistance to some Scottish Terriers that had been recovered from the operator of a puppy mill. It was time to activate the ASTR volunteers for an afternoon of washing little terriers at the local dogwash. At 2:30 that afternoon all the volunteers were assembled and ready to work when Earlene arrived with four very cute, but very dirty, little terriers.

Everyone took a Scottie straight to a bath tub. Once you got a smell of one there was absolutely no delay. Each Scottie was scrubbed not once, not twice, but at least three times, in an effort to remove months of dirt and caked excrement from the very skinny and strangely quiet terriers. Months of life in cages had caused each of the Scotties to develop a nasty stench that just wouldn't completely go away. We were all wondering if that smell would be a permanent feature to Earlene's new car. One of the dogs was barely able to walk.

The Scotties were amazingly well-behaved. We had expected a bunch of unsocialized little terrors, but nothing could have been further from the truth. They did seem wary in the strange circumstances of the dogwash, but none of them barked or growled about anything. And, as you would expect of neglected dogs, they seemed almost dazed and emotionless. But after a good scrubbing and drying each dog was perfectly happy to be held by a volunteer and go to sleep while wrapped in a towel. Each of us left the dogwash with the feeling that we had made a big difference in the lives of some small new friends.

Today each Scottie will have a complete examination at our local veterinary hospital. We know that most have eye infections and problems with worms and malnutrition. Hopefully their awkward movements will simply be the result of too little exercise and that, in time, they will act like other frisky terriers. Each will get a thorough examination and each probably scheduled for dental cleaning.

For the indefinite future each Scottie will be fostered in a healthy, social environment along with other Scotties belonging to the foster families. The goal is that each little rescue, with time, will learn how to live like a normal Scottish Terrier. They may have been through hell in the past, but things are looking better for them now.

If you think you would be interested in working as a volunteer with ASTR, contact Coordinator Earlene Holmstrom through the CONTACT US link at our web site. There are so many dogs that can be helped in so many ways.