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Scottie was our first Westie. I guess you could say he was a rescue dog. I was still on active duty in the U.S. Navy when one of my friends asked if I would be interested in having a purebred Westie at no cost. I asked why he was just giving the dog away and he told me he kept biting his children, and his wife just wouldn’t put up with it any longer. For better or worse I decided to take him. I remember the ride home; he just sat there growling at me the whole trip. We didn’t have any small children to worry about but I was still concerned since my wife is disabled. When I brought him in the house he immediately ran to her and never once offered to bite, or even growl. In fact, he sat there looking at me as if to say his new job was to look after her, and that I better be careful and not get too close. From that moment on my wife’s “new protector” never left her side, except to run the fence line in the back yard with the neighbor’s basset hound. He suffered from hip dysplasia and when his hip would pop out of joint it was really pittiful to watch him. Later, he developed diabetes, which eventually caused him to go blind. I was fortunate that we had pet insurance and was able to afford eye surgery, including implants to restore his vision. Even with all his health issues Scottie lived a good long life, until he developed cancer and we had to make the hard decision to let him go. We have owned four other Westies since then but Scottie was the first and will always hold a special place in our hearts.