A Pup’s Family Story
Tater Tot, a 10 week old pup, tells his fans about his family of seven puppies Westie Rescue just placed.
Hello from the herd of puppies!
I need to introduce myself. My friends call me Tater Tot as I am the chunkiest Westie in my family of seven!
About 12, no, 13 weeks ago my mom and dad were picked up by Westie Rescue from a farmer who gave them up as "They don't have no worth. They don't "produce puppies", as he put it. Unknown to that idiot, my mom was working on a surprise….
A quick trip to the Vets confirmed we were well on our way to being born. A short day later in the early morning hours, all seven of us were soon struggling to find our first taste of momma's milk. It happened so fast my mom didn't even get the chance to have her spa day and a bath to remove that farm life smell from her fur. There we were fighting over who had the top row verses the bottom row for our mom's milk. We were all strong and healthy and dad was looking proud too even though he was worried as our mom was way underweight due to neglect and poor prenatal care. Regardless of this sad past, she became the best mom a Westie pup could ever wish for.
She cleaned every one of us up, face, back, belly and butt. One lick at a time until she was happy with her big brood of tiny white rats. I don't remember much during the next few weeks as it was all eat, sleep, and eat some more. We gained weight and size until our eyes opened and we could see and feel mom's love and each other. What a great fun family I was born into.
Every minute when we were awake there was something to do and someone to tussle with. Some slept while others scampered around yipping at each other. Finding a sparring partner was always easy. All one had to do was clamp down on any exposed body part and the reaction was always "FIGHT IS ON!" Pulling each other by the tail was always a favorite past time of ours and was it hilarious. The victim worked hard but reverse always won the pulling contest. I was the best at it as I am the biggest fattest Westie of this brood!
The days went by fast as we grew and grew. Running around, learning about body functions, and general mayhem. Our Aunt Tina and her grand-daughter took care of us and cleaned up as fast as we made a mess in our play area. Which was quite often…like every five minutes or so.
Dog/Human Socialization is a big issue to our foster mom, so we got the full treatment. We all get picked up every few hours to get our toes, noses, ears, belly rubs, tail rubs, butts checked, and a good old body rub down. All that picking up, fussing over, and falling asleep in their arms, made us all human focused. Talk about a life, we learned that humans are great! Aunt Tina called it socialization. I say it was all love and rubs, as I got my tummy rubs in every day. That and a full body massage, man does that make your legs stretch out straight!
When we moved to puppy chow it was like WOW! This stuff is great. You can eat it. You can run through it. And you can play in it! What adventure! Foster Mom Tina was not happy with the playing and running parts but who cares when you are young and having fun, RIGHT? As we got bigger and bolder, we went outside in our exercise pen where we felt grass on our little paws for the first time, the cool breeze blowing over our faces, and we got a better look at our larger Dog Uncles and Aunts that also live in "our" house. Man, they are BIG! We follow them everywhere…..
When we turned 8 weeks old our mom told each one of us, that she was happy and proud we all turned out so well. She told us that someone special will soon be coming to take us to own homes. You will become best buddies and have a partner to run in the yard, play tug a war with toys, and take trips together. You will go places and see things you have never done before, like getting drive thru McDonald's French Fries. That is all I needed to hear, as I am always hungry. Just the thought of unlimited fries makes my mouth water and I haven't even had one yet!
Our mom then looked at us sternly and then read the Rules for Adopted Westies:
Rule 1 — Suck up to your new humans so they will not return your sorry butts.
Rule 2 — Don't screw up a good thing once you get there.
Rule 3 — Follow Rules 1 & 2 everyday so you will bore into your human's life and heart and they will care for you for life!
Pretty soon, strangers were stopping by to pick us up and inspect our little faces looking for the special little buddy to start a new chapter of our lives. We have had all our puppy training, so we acted real smart and cute in spite of having a bad case of puppy brains. We visited the Vet at 3, 6, and 8 weeks for weigh ins and health checks making sure we were growing strong and were ready for our own human family. Every day there was less and less of us in the exercise area. Soon Dad was gone, then Mom. Each of us had found the perfect home that our foster mom, Aunt Tina, picked out. Soon it came my turn. I knew right away when my special human came to visit. I yelped "Pick me! Yes, me down here! I'm the fat one. I am Mister Special and I don't mean maybe!". Well, you know, as soon as I felt his arms holding me, I knew right away we would be best buds for life.
Some of us went far away. Others of us went just down the street. One of my sisters went all the way down the highway with Uncle Stephen to live in North Carolina. She said she had to get a "transportation weigh in" for the shipping permit. No, she didn't. She is such a drama queen. She was hand carried all the way to her new home. She got weighed in and had her photo taken before that long road trip. Girls are so sensitive about their weight. Besides she got in a good snooze, full body brushing, and a big meal before the long trip south. What more could a pup want?
This is our Family Album…pictures and more pictures! Aren't we cute?
What happens when mom brings home a puppy?
I want to tell my puppy care staff that they did a yeoman's job to keep us all clean, well fed, exercised, socialized, tummy petted, and happy! I have nothing but great memories of my "early days" at my first home with my mom, dad, brothers and my sisters. So far it has been a great life!"
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Comments 17
Oh no! I wanted to read the rest of Tater Tot’s story, but something went wrong! The download for the rest of the post seems to be missing a file.
Good luck with these little cuties!!
Westie Rescue Response: Sorry for the disruptions. Tater’s Story is up and running now with even more pics as we receive them from the pups new homes. Technology is such fun!
My heart wants this puppy. I’ve had 3 Westies and would love my 4th.
Prayers for all the pups and I would love to be a foster or parent one day.
I’m very interested in rescuing a Westie puppy fat or not. Please keep me in mind. Will there be puppies to see on May 6th in Montpelier?
Westie Rescue Response: ALL of these pups have been placed in new homes.
WONDERFULLY DONE, ONLY SMILES AND WARMING OF THE HEART
Have the mom and dad dogs been adopted? If not I am really interested!
Westie Rescue Response: All are adopted, Mom, Dad and the seven pups!
They are SOOO adorable and Tater Tot is definitely a cutie (All of them are!!). Westie’s are the best, in my opinion. I love these dogs and it’s easy to see how they can melt someone’s heart!!
Great story with a very happy ending. How could anyone return a puppy, yet alone a Westie. I’m sure they’ll have great homes.
This is a heart warming story. What angels you are to work to so lovingly to take care of the pups!
I have had two dear Westies in my life. Pippin my last girl lived to be 16. She contracted congestive heart failure which worsened to the point where we felt that the kindest thing was to put her to sleep. I cried non stop for days and miss her so. If there is a female Westie pup who is in need of a loving home I would be grateful to adopt.
And what about the puppies mom and Dad? Did you get them adopted as well?
Westie Rescue Response: All are adopted, Mom, Dad and the 7 pups!
The story is so cute and my heart is full of love and satisfaction that they were all adopted. I miss my Westies, but know they are running through green fields forever! Will see them soon and we will make more wonderful memories.
I wish I was wealthy. If I were wealthy I would hire someone to help me and I would have adopted Tater Tot and ALL of his family. It would be a wonderful life for me and this whole family. It would be like being in doggy heaven. I truly am addicted to Westies and all their individual quirks. Thank you so much Westie Rescue for my Charlie. She has been just what I needed to plug the hole in my heart from losing my EMMA. I will always miss Emma but Charlie is doing a great job at cheering me up. We are finally getting to know each other real well. She has begun to show me that she loves me. It’s the best feeling in the world. Thank you again Stephen for Charlie. She seems to be very happy here.
These days, it is refreshing to read a story with a happy ending. “Aunt Tina” helped me get my first two Westies-one of whom was rescued from an Amish puppy mill. They are now in Heaven. Their lives are always too short. I adopted two more Westies through “Uncle Stephen”. Hope to come to Montpelier in May.
My heart is so full reading this story. My prayer is that everything works out and that maybe…just maybe there’s one pup left for me! GOD HEAR MY PRAYER!
I have been wanting, hoping & praying to adopt a Westie for a long, long time. My prayers have not been answered so far. I am praying the Dear Lord will answer my prayers soon. I would take male, or female young or old.
What a wonderful new beginning for Tater Tot and his family! And especially for his brave mom and dad! A great testimony to the love and care that Westie Rescue so graciously provides to all those Westies out there. A heartwarming report!
I would love a westie we had 2 at one time Lily and Zero Aunt and Nephew .They were the loves of our lives. After missing them both for 10 years We would love another.We live in Granger Indiana and we are in our late 70s. So we would need help getting the pup or pups here. I am crossing my fingers thank you for you time and God Bless you on work you do.
This is such a lovely way to see how the story continues for the adopted babies. I’m sure the aunties and uncles appreciate an update to know their loving Westie is doing well. As a family hoping to give a Westie a home someday, reading these stories is so fulfilling to witness how integrated this community is.
Best wishes for Tater Tot and his new home. To the humans who wrote the story, thank you! This was as entertaining and delightful to read as it was heartwarming.
Love all the pictures!