The mission of the SCWTCGTB RESCUE is to re-home displaced Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers in the most appropriate environment for both the Rescue Dog and new owner. It is our mission to meet the needs of displaced Wheaten Terriers, both physically, emotionally and socially, as well as educate the public of the dangers of pet store, back yard, and puppy mill purchases, health screening and training needs of the SCWT.

August 12, 2000

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of Greater Tampa Bay – Rescue

For general information and adoption forms please contact

Debra Scurr, Florida Rescue Co-coordinator flwheaten@gmail.com

Melissa Nelson, Florida Rescue Co-coordinator wheatenrescuemia@aol.com

 Do you have a Wheaten you think needs a new home? For Rescue Evaluation please contact:

Karen Kormos, Evaluation and Rescue Intake wheatenrescuefla@gmail.com

 For general questions regarding whether or not a rescue Wheaten is right for you please contact:

Marj Lorand, Public Education, mlorand@tampabay.rr.com

Ten Commandments for Pet Owners

1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years.  Any separation from you will be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want from me.  Do not break my spirit with your temper, though I will always forgive you.  Your patience will teach me more effectively.
3. Please have me spayed or neutered.
4. Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for your kindness than mine.  Don’t be angry with me for long, and don’t lock me up as punishment.  After all, you have your job, your friends, your entertainment.  I have only you.
5. Speak to me often.  Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice when it’s speaking to me.  Your voice is the sweetest sound I ever hear, as you must know by my enthusiasm whenever I hear your footsteps.
6. Take me in when it’s cold and wet.  I’m a domestic animal and am no longer accustomed to the bitter elements.  I ask for little more than your gentle hands petting me.  Keep my bowl filled with water.  Feed me good food so that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding.  By your side, I stand ready, able and willing to share my life with you, for that is what I live for.  I’ll never forget how well you’ve treated me.
7. Don’t hit me.  Remember I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me.  Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I’ve been out in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting weak.
9. Take care of me when I get old.  For you will grow old, too.
10. When I am old, or when I no longer enjoy good health, please do not make heroic efforts to keep me going.  I am not having fun.  Just see to it that my trusting life is taken gently.  And be with me on that difficult journey when it’s time to say goodbye.  Never say, “I just can’t bear to watch.”  Everything is easier for me when you are there.  I will leave this earth knowing with my last breath that my fate was always safest in your hands.

I love you

 A Tribute to Teddy

Resident Rescue Boy

(AKA: Theodore, Ted-Bear, Tedmeister or simply, Ted)

December 18, 2000 - July 11, 2005

I remember the day clearly.  It was the Friday after Thanksgiving and John and I were kayaking on Sarasota Bay just a tad north of Midnight Pass.  Our cell phone started to ring and finding a way to get it out of the waterproof bag and into my hands while balancing my oar was quite a feat.  A young male Wheaten, 1 month short of his first birthday, needed to be rescued.  We loaded the kayak back onto the car and headed down to meet Teddy.  There he was, darling, rambunctious and very sweet.  The family couldn’t keep him.  He tormented the cats, he urinated when excited.  Could we find him a good home?  Without a doubt!  He was precious and just a pup!

 Two days with Teddy and we knew something was wildly amiss.  He didn’t just urinate when excited; he dripped urine, almost constantly. Little drips mostly.  We made an appointment with the vet, ran urinalysis, blood panel, checked for infection.   The blood panel came back suspect, as did the urinalysis.  We made an appointment with veterinary specialist who generously donated her fee and the cost of an ultrasound of Teddy’s kidneys. As I feared, it was the worse possible diagnosis. Teddy had RD.

 We were devastated.  Who would want him?  Who would adopt an RD positive pup and give him a good life, short as it might be?  It did not look good, 18 months, maybe 24 months lifespan.  Most Wheatens born with RD do not have a very long life.  We couldn’t bear the thought of euthanizing such a happy-go-lucky, sweet and active dog.  We would keep him.  No heroics, no extreme lifesaving procedures.  Just keep him happy, healthy and love him for as long as we could and put him in diapers!  He fit in well here, he got along with Bailey and Murffy and he loved every dog that came through the side gate.  He was an easy fit.

Things were rosy and went well for the first 18 months.  Life with three male dogs was amazingly easy.  We could not believe our good fortune that their personalities meshed so well.  But Murffy was starting to have his own trouble with degenerative joint disease.  He was beginning to go lame.  The diagnosis for him was also grim.  He began to mistake his discomfort for some injustice done to him by the other dogs.  Teddy being an adolescent Wheaten decided it was a golden time to assert his dominance.  The fights began.  John and I were faced with a real dilemma.  We loved all the dogs, we were committed to Murffy having had him before we decided to keep Ted here.  It was a difficult decision, but knowing Ted’s prognosis, we were faced with euthanizing him.

 My parents had rescued a female Wheaten a few years earlier.  Annie and Teddy got along very well.  Annie is queen of all she surveys, and Ted was her loyal subject.  They had kept Ted for us when we vacationed, and they loved him as much as we did.  Mom begged me to make no final decision on Teddy without talking to her first.  She then went to work on Dad.  Teddy moved in with them immediately and the leather lounger became his permanent post at the window.  From there he could keep the neighborhood free of the Dreaded Demon Catz, let everyone know when the UPS truck was on the street, and stay well out of Annie’s way if she was feeling a bit like chewing him out on any particular day.  Life with diapered dog can be a challenge.  But Mom covered the furniture (Ted was more partial to the leather lounger anyway); bought diapers at Sams and Costco, and when they loaded up the RV, they took along Ted and Annie.  Ted was now a traveling Wheaten. 

 Ted’s birthday was always a day of wonderment for us.  He made it to two, he made it to three, and he made it to four and seven months.   Today we said goodbye to Teddy.  Today we all cried a lot, and kissed Ted a thousand times farewell.  But what a gift we had in Teddy.  He gave us a million laughs.  

 Thank you SCWTCGTB for supporting our resident Rescue boy and especially thanks to my Mom and Dad, for loving Teddy and making his short life so full.

 Karen Kormos

Note: For information on RD and PLE/PLN in Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers please go to the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America’s website http://www.scwtca.org

  Click on photos to enlarge

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