Wyndi's Story

A long time before Keli or Penny came to live with us, Wyndi was our first westie girl. She was born in 1989 in Massachusetts, just over the border from where we lived in Connecticut. We decided we wanted a westie because we thought the photo on the Milkbone treat box was so darn cute. We had no idea what we were in for -- Although it worked out for us, I do not recommend choosing a dog this way! 

We found her through a listing in the newspaper and when we called they said they had one female puppy left, about 3 months old. So we piled into the car with a few other family members and drove to the breeder's home to see her. As soon as we got out of the car, Wyndi, her mom and her brothers all came out of their kennel to greet us. They were all so cute and adorable, we decided to take the little female home. 

On the way home we discussed names for our new little puppy. One suggestion was "snowflake" but that seemed a little obvious a name for a little white dog. We eventually decided her real name would by Wyndham White, which was the name of a white wine that we liked that happened to be made at a Connecticut winery. But we always called her Wyndi. 

Being first time dog owners, we made a lot of mistakes. Wyndi tried to be the leader of the pack and we allowed it, because we didn't know any better. One thing we did right was crate training. Because we both worked full time, she was crated during the day. I worked only a few miles from home, so almost every day I was able to go home at lunch and take her out and give her a snack before going back to work. We always left a radio on when she was home alone. Until she was about three years old, we never left her alone in the house without crating her because we could not trust her not to chew or destroy something she wasn't supposed to touch. Even though we had lots of toys for her, she preferred my shoes! 

Considering we didn't know much about obedience training, she was pretty well-behaved most of the time. Wyndi knew how to shake hands, roll over and sit up for a cookie. She would do anything for a cookie! She loved going for a ride and would always jump in the car, even if it was just a quick trip to the post office. We took her for family visits and even on vacations. She was a good traveler. 

When she was still just a young dog, she started having health problems. I'd rather not try to write all the details just now, because I'd prefer to remember the good times we had with her. I'll just say that she suffered from allergies, hypothyroidism, bladder stones, chronic ear infections that eventually led to having one of her ear drums and canal removed, and for the last few years she was blind. We spent a lot of time at the vet and at various specialists' offices evaluating her conditions and each time she was diagnosed and properly treated she would always bounce back to her usual perky westie self. 

For the more serious conditions, we all learned to adapt -- after she became blind we were always careful that she didn't get too close to stairs that she could topple down and we tried not to move furniture around too much without re-acquainting her with the new layout. Wyndi actually managed to get around quite well most of the time. When we re-furbished the deck, we replaced the stairs with a ramp, which made it easier for her (and us) to go out. 

During her last three years, Wyndi was our little lap doggie; she was content to eat, sleep in the sun, go out a few times a day and just be with us. She was like the Velveteen Rabbit -- her hair was thin and worn but she was still our cute little companion. 

Just after Christmas in 2001 she refused to eat anything, even her most favorite foods. Normally, she had a voracious appetite and would eat just about anything - anytime, anywhere. She was sick in the middle of the night and we took her to the local emergency veterinary hospital where the x-rays were not good. It was very likely a tumor which would require ultrasound and other tests. The prognosis was poor even with treatment, so we opted not to put her through any more procedures during her last days. 

It was very hard to say goodbye to my little white shadow. I still get emotional just thinking about that time after she was gone. She was so much a part of our lives when we were young, and we kind of grew up together. I missed her terribly for months. It was awful coming home to a silent house. 

After a few months I decided I needed another westie in my life -- not a replacement for Wyndi, but a successor, so I could move on and remember the happy puppy days we all had with her. And that's when we decided to look for a new puppy and eventually Keli Angel came to live with us. 

I still miss Wyndi sometimes and there are times when we forget and call her name instead of Keli's . . .

More photos can be seen in Wyndi's Google Photo Album

edited: March 22, 2022 to replace old Picasa albums with Google Photos