UPDATE: Thank you for all whoexpressed interest. We were able to find a wonderful home for Andy!

We currently have a rescue that needs a new home.  Andy is a 13 year-old male who’s current owner can’t keep him because of their living situation.  He is a sweetheart, very healthy and is current on all vaccinations.  If you can help, please contact our rescue coordinator by filling out our rescue contact form.  Click here to fill out the form now.

-  Jason & Cheryl Roberts

Yummie Westie cup cakes!

Check out these amazing Westie Cupcakes!!!

If you are able to donate anything from money to time or fostering, please contact the club ASAP.  Please email us at by clicking here. If you are able to donate fudns to help with the care of these two ladies, please send checks to:

WHWTCNO

c/o Caroly Bales, Treasurer

2795 Byron Dr.

N. Canton, Ohio 44720-1201

Please indicate in the check memo that you are donating for rescue purposes.

It was an honor to be asked to judge Sweepstakes at the WHWTC Northern Ohio specialty on August 2, and much appreciated. Your club is legendary for the warm hospitality shown to exhibitors, guests, and judges, and it is a reputation most deserved. Thank you for the beautiful gift basket which greeted me at the hotel, and for the other gifts. It was fun to sit down with you after the judging and enjoy the beautiful lunch that was served. All in all, a terrific experience which I know is the result of a lot of planning and hard work.  I would also like to thank the Steward, Marilyn Fitzhum, who helped me so much. She apparently does this every year for the club and she was just fabulous.

I was very impressed with the overall quality of the entry. There were many puppies who challenged for the placements and for top honors, and will undoubtedly continue to do well in the future. In particular, the 6-9 bitch class was just the most ridiculously cute group of nice little girls who showed their hearts out; I just smiled the whole class! There was quality throughout the classes, good heads (though maybe a tendency toward some less than “blunt and powerful” muzzles), many good fronts and toplines. I was amazed at the stamina of the puppies, many of them had been in the ring every day over the long weekend, and yet still seemed to be up for the task!

I awarded Best in Sweeps to a bitch that, quite simply, I would have loved to have taken home with me. She was just what I like to see in a puppy her age; moderate and, for me, correct in so many ways. Absolutely feminine, but with good bone, and perfectly presented. Later in the day, she challenged hard for Winners Bitch in a large and full entry, eventually taking Reserve. Best of Opposite in Sweeps was a promising, handsome 6-9 puppy dog with a great head piece, who really impressed me with his presence and his movement.

The Veteran Sweeps was really wonderful, all of the dogs showed themselves off with great grace and enthusiasm. I awarded Best Veteran in Sweeps to a proud, energetic dog with lots of good qualities who for me exhibited the ideal of “strength and activity.” Best Opposite Veteran in Sweeps was a lovely, feminine
girl who also moved very well. But they were all wonderful, and it is so good for us to see these Champions back in the ring. What a tribute to their breeders and owners that these dogs are in such good condition at these ages!

I think it’s important to always be learning, and certainly judging sweeps is bound to be a learning experience for those of us who have not done it forever. One thing I learned from this experience was that I had not read my judges’ guidelines book carefully enough. Although I obviously thought it was an acceptable practice, (because it has actually happened to me in the ring by some very established Terrier judges), the book does state that a judge should not inspect a table dog on the ground; that the dog should be moved back on the table for any further inspection. Notwithstanding my personal view that a Westie (or really any dog) should have the temperament to allow examination anytime, anywhere — I of course respect the guidelines. I appreciated that someone brought this to my attention during the judging and helped me, in this way, to do my job “by the book!”

I thank all the exhibitors for their entry and wish you well in the future.