Your Stories: Westies Make The Schmidts’ World Go ’round

Dani’s full name is Captain Dani Piper. He was born Aug. 17, 1998, in Puyallup, Wash. The last puppy to be chosen, we found him hiding behind the couch, afraid of the world, only 8 weeks old. 

My husband, Chris Schmidt, said we need to save him from the fears of that environment. (Toddlers and a boxer puppy who were a bit too rough in play).

To this day, he seeks approval and attention but is afraid to be held. An indoor fellow, he would be happy in a high-rise apartment. He is fastidious about not getting his feet wet or dirty. He enjoys being a companion and we felt he would enjoy another dog to get him to do more things.

He’s been very healthy since being diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. Before that, his coat was always a problem with bare patches and itching. Dani is a bit of a worrier, and he is the alpha dog of the two. He has a bark that is more like a hound’s call to the fox.

Darby of Birchfield, adopted at 16 weeks, was named after the road where he was born in Moxee, Wash. on June 9, 1999. He has a perfect self-cleaning Westie coat and good natured impertinence. The Westie standard “no small amount of self-esteem” applies to him. Darby keeps Dani active. 

He had total acute kidney failure at 7 years due to something he ingested (I suspected the dog food that was tainted at the time). Recovering at the last minute, he is our miracle on four legs.

Then a fungus infection in his toenails, which was incredibly painful, took hold. After a year and a half, he shook it, enduring distasteful medicine with every meal.

We have had to fence our yard at the halfway point, as he would race so fast the whole distance that he “blew out” his knee.

Happy, playful, funny and endearing … he’s the perfect foil for his adopted brother. His only vice is that he is a bit too much of the barker. The West Highland terrier was bred to hunt small animals in a pack. 

Before these two, I had a wonderful Westie who lived 17 years. We also have had three Scottish terriers over the years. The Westie personality is more “interactive” than the “dour Scot.” The two breeds are the famous black and white label combination, and we enjoyed having the two opposite looks and personalities. 

I love animals and my dogs are a link to the wild world. They have become essential to my day-to-day routine. I’ve enjoyed pets all my life. Their presence is reassuring. 

Diana Schmidt, Walla Walla