[NYWestieLove]

I stumbled across this thread, and I just had to register to post my own story about Marie.

6 years ago my parents went to her to get a Westie. At the time she was charging $700 for a dog when everyone else was charging $1100. They were regaled with the same tales of the how Ireland is so strict, and she (I believe) actually said it was her brother that was importing them for her.

The puppy they brought home was sick. 3 days after they had it, it was very sick, and they called Marie. Marie told them to bring the dog to her so she could see it. On the way there, the puppy died in my mom's arms. Marie said she had other puppies available, and gave them another dog. Since their interest was to save my little sister from having to deal with a dead puppy, they were quite happy with the remedy, and never thought twice about it. However, it too had 'kennel cough', also known as bordetella. Usually dogs can only get this when they are kept in close proximity to other infected dogs, such as at a kennel. She was treated with antibiotics, and was fine afterwards.

Now, as the new dog has grown up, we see her to have a wide yellow streak down her back, grey/brown fur growing in at the paws. I cannot comment on the physical qualities other than she is built like a tank - which could be genetics or could be just over weight. But she is loved, and has wonderful personality. She was never meant to be shown or bred, but it wasn't until I found this thread that it started to sink in on us that this is just from poor breeding.

Last year, I decided I wanted a westie of my own. I called several breeders who wanted $1400-$2000 for pups. Mostly only males were available, and I wanted a female. The breeders had many annoying (to me) rules such as 1) I agree to spay or neuter the puppy within 6 months, or 2) if I show the dog, the dog must be shown under the breeder's name until it receives it's championship, or 3) if I breed the dog, the breeder will have say over who it is bred with, and will get first pick of the litter of puppies. These rules seemed very intrusive, and did not make me feel like I was owning a dog at all, but only 'renting' someone else's dog. My parents suggested Marie. I checked with the WHWTC and Marie was not on the list. My parents reassured me that they have had no problems with their dog, medically, and Marie gives a one-year warranty on all her dogs. Combined with the steep price which I didn't have, I asked my parent's for Marie's number.

I rang up Marie, and she told me she had two females available right at that moment. I was so surprised since most of the breeders had waiting lists of weeks to several months. I raced almost 300 miles to meet Marie that night. Sure enough, she gave me the same story as 6 years ago. The puppies were in a baby crib in the living room. Both were very excited to see me. Both were very small. I was told they were born at the end of February, and this was over Mother's day that I was buying them. If I remember correctly, I calculated the age at 11 weeks. She asked for $1000, but if I paid in cash she wouldn't charge me tax. What a deal, I thought! But then she started pushing me to purchase her coat/conditioner supplement, her multivitamin tablet, and her multivitamin powder, which upped the bill almost $75. I forewent the dog crate she was selling, and the dog food, of which is not even rated very highly by dogfoodanalysis.com.

My dog is now just over a year old. So far no serious medical conditions have arisen. She does not seem to be allergic to some of the common Westie diet problems. Nor does she have poor skin. I do use very high quality pet shampoos and conditioners though, and only bathe her when she gets dirty.

Her coat is not naturally straight, but does have some waviness to it. I think this is natural. After stripping her last year, it did get a little straighter and harsher, as it is supposed to. One thing to note is that not all her nails are black, which is the ideal, and there is a patch of fine gray/brown hair at the base of her tail. I had attributed this to perhaps a throw back from the cairn terrier that they come from, but it could also be poor breeding. My dog also has much more 'delicate' features compared to my parents' dog, but she is by no means fragile, just not as large. It always made me wonder though if my dog was on the small side, or if my parents' dog was on the large size? Comparing my 14 month old dog to another westie that is about 9 months old now, they are almost the same size.

After reading this thread I am very alarmed at the thought that Marie is an importer of puppy mill dogs. It is quite sad. I just don't know what else to say, but I hope that anyone looking into getting a dog from her might consider looking elsewhere.