Westie Whispers
Home of the cold nose
and warm heart
Westie Whispers' Celebrities
Greetings, Everyone! Allow me to introduce you to our girl, Tessa who is the daughter of Orson and Isabelle. She is seven years old and still smart as anything. Her favorite things to do are zoomies in the backyard and coning YOU out of treats. Tessa is also a big-time science nerd! In her years with John and Margee H. (and Dexter her little brother) she has participated in three Citizen Science projects to advance the best of canines and the future best of humans. The first project was giving blood to the Canine Genome Project which maps the canine genome and explores the implications of genetics on breed-specific cancers, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The next project was sponsored by Duke University and was called Dognition. This was fun because she got to play games and find food to determine her cognitive preferences (how she perceives the world and processes information). Tessa was given the badge, “Dog of All Trades”.
Her newest nerdy science project is called the Dog Aging Project (DAP) and is sponsored by the University of Washington Medical School, Texas A&M University Veterinary School, the NIH and public donations. The goal is to observe dogs of all ages and all breeds to see how they age. The findings are then used to determine what are the best ways to improve canine aging. The study findings will also be used to find correlations in aging that may benefit humans as well. Mom found this project while reading an AARP publication. This is a 10-year study, is by invitation after nominating your canine, and will require submission of all kinds of information to include surveys, vet records and even a DNA test.
We are so Proud of our Tessa Westie. We have always encouraged her to explore the sciences and improve the condition of all breeds of dogs in the future. Did we mention that she is officially part of the DAP Pack? Yeah, she has a member number and was welcomed into the Pack with a certification of acceptance. Guess it is the next best thing to a PhD.
Jackson is a Denver Airport Therapy Dog. He is part of the Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS) at Denver International Airport.
​
He is part of a very cool therapy program at DIA that you can read about here.
​
His mom (Cynthia F.) is extremely proud that Jackson is part of this program, and the only Westie there!
​
We are proud of Cynthia for helping Jackson become the Westie he was always meant to be.
"I am so proud to announce that my sweet little Lucca, offspring of Sawyer and Omen, born Nov. 2, 2012, has recently been awarded the 2017 the American Red Cross Southeastern Colorado Hometown Hero "Animal".
Lucca has brought us so much joy over the past four years! He became a member of the Go Team Therapy Dogs last year and our life has become a whirlwind of volunteer events. I wanted his sweetness to be shared by anyone who needed love.
Please enjoy the video that was shown at the Hometown Heroes awards at the Broadmoor March 16th!"
​
"Here are two links. The first is just a great short clip of him riding a wave. The second is a little longer but he was featured on Good Morning America. He shows up a few times and we're interviewed with his board, etc. He's even in there doing a tandem surf with his whippet friend Beans! He came in third in the World Dog Surfing Competition! He was also on Good Morning San Diego this year as well. We have such fun doing this and he's still in love with it! Norman, who we got in December is quite the swimmer! He follows everything Tristan does! We haven't gotten him on the surfboard yet but he paddle boards with us all the time! It's great for people to know that Westies are capable of anything! Tristan is the "cover boy" for Surf Dog Australia as well.
Last but not least, he is featured on the cover of The Dog's Guide To Surfing."
- Christy O.
You can follow Tristan on Facebook!
