Rescued Westie recovering nicely after weeks on his own
By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
Remember Mickey, the little lost rescue dog? Wendy, Heather and Abby Olson of Burbank, Calif. sure do.

Brentwood Police chief Ricky Watson recently received a large, 11-by-9-inch greeting card from the three girls for his department’s role in finding Mickey, a Westie, and making sure he got home safely.

SIMPLY THE BEST, Better than all the rest, screams the headline on the card, designed to look like a newspaper. Touted as an “EXCLUSIVE”, with Wendy, Abby and Heather Olson listed in the byline, the story reads:

“The Brentwood PD has been voted ‘The Best Dog Friendly Police Station’ by Westie Lovers everywhere!”It’s our (way) of saying ‘thank you very much’ to them for helping find lost Mickey.

“Recent studies on human behavior have shown that it’s precisely this sort of everyday kindness which makes people feel better about themselves and about life.

“’Feeling good isn’t all about having loads of cash and expensive vacations,’ an expert said “although they do help.”

Inside, the message reads:

“Thank You! You are heroes to many hundreds of Facebook Fans worldwide. Thank You just doesn’t seem like enough!”

It’s signed by the three girls.

Watson shared the card with the Brentwood City Commission at the board’s July 11 meeting.

On Monday, Barb Ott of Lawrenceburg, Mickey’s foster mom at the time he was lost, said Monday he’s doing great. Though he had to go to another foster home last Thursday due to her husband’s illness, Ott said he should soon be ready for adoption. He had already regained the four to five pounds he lost while he was out on his own but his hair “is still quite thin.”

The little Westie has had quite a life. In January, he was rescued from a kill shelter outside of Atlanta. Very sick with practically no hair, Mickey’s immune system was broken and he had multiple infections.

“Because of the abuse he more than likely suffered his entire life, Mickey is very frightened of people in general especially strangers.  Because he was in a new place with new people, he bolted,” explained Sherry Walsh of Brentwood, president of the Westie Rescue Southeast-USA. Walsh was watching Mickey on June 11 so Ott could visit her husband in the hospital.

“We immediately gave flyers to the police department and began to put up posters and canvas neighborhoods in the Belle Rive area.  It was very disheartening because we could not find him and we had not gotten a single sighting call.”

Over the next two weeks, there were sightings in Maryland Farms but no success in nabbing him.
“Searching Maryland Farms for a frightened dog is literally akin to searching for a needle in a haystack,” Walsh wrote soon after Mickey was found. “Determination carried the days...and nights. 

“In the meantime, Mickey's story began to spread on Facebook and he had people praying for his safe return from all over the country and the world. 

On Saturday, June25, Walsh got a call from Kayla, a dispatcher with the Brentwood Police Department. An officer had spotted Mickey on his way into work. Within seconds, another officer was driving up and down Westwood Drive searching for Mickey, Walsh continued.

Ott drove from Lawrenceburg when she learned the news. Late that night, lured with hot dog buns drenched in bacon grease, a timid Mickey finally came out of the woods to his foster mother, the one person he trusted.

“He’s just doing great, he’s such a loving, little boy,” said Ott, who added she hated to send him to another foster home but knew it was the best thing right now since her husband needs more of her attention right now.

Westie Rescue Southeast-USA is a 501 c-3 IRS recognized non-profit rescue headquartered in Brentwood. 

“We identify Westies in the multi-state area that need to be taken into rescue from shelters, puppy mills or homes that can no longer care for them,” Walsh stated. “Our Westies are fully vetted, spayed or neutered and up to date on all vaccinations before we place them in approved adoptive homes.” The rescues stay in approved foster homes until they are matched with a “furever” family, she said.

Rescued Westies ready to be adopted can be found on Petfinder.com and on Facebook.