When my husband and I met Chip, he was a scared and underweight 10-month-old Westie. Chip was found at the front door of an animal shelter in Omaha with an abandonment paper attached to him. While most of the questionnaire was left blank, what is known about Chip's past is this - he was a nameless farm dog who lived outdoors. The rest of Chip's past is uncertain, but there were signs of abuse by his strong fear of feet and doors.

Chip did not adjust well to the shelter and refused to eat. All he would do was sit in the kennel and shake. This is when Westie Rescue was brought into the picture. Chip was then placed with a wonderful foster mom and soon after, we found him.

My husband and I first met our new furbaby in a park in Omaha. When I first saw him I actually got tears in my eyes because he was so precious, I didn't understand how anybody could not want him. His paws and legs were stained brown from his previous living conditions, he was so underweight that you could see his ribs and he had the most awkward haircut because they had to cut out all his knots, but he had the biggest and cutest eyes ever. The drive home to Kansas City was a long one. Chip did not want to be held and was terrified. It wasn't until we opened our front door that he started to feel at home.

When we opened the front door, Macintosh's tail was going nuts. We got Macintosh in 2005 knowing that we wanted to get him another Westie companion. Mac loves other dogs so much, we felt guilty about him not having a playmate. Macintosh and Chip played outside and did the doggy inspection. Apparently Macintosh aced the test because from that moment on, Chip followed him everywhere.

While Chip's transition wasn't easy – I can't even process how much more difficult it would have been without Macintosh. Mac was his big brother and Chip looked to him for example. He helped Chip with potty training and as well as other social cues. While Chip would run away whenever we tried to pick him up, get scared when we opened a door and freak out whenever we tried to roll him over for a tummy rub – he has improved so much over the last 11 months. Chip loves being held, doors aren't as scary anymore and he will now roll over on his own whenever he feels he deserves a tummy rub, which is a lot apparently.

Aside from that, Chip has been able to experience many firsts. Several weeks after we got him, my now husband and I got married and Macintosh and Chip were superstars in the wedding photos. We then celebrated Chip's first birthday with some doggy friends and of course, doggy birthday cake. A personalized needlepoint stocking filled with goodies was added to the group during the holidays for our little guy. Macintosh and Chip are also regular philanthropists are Wayside Waifs' Strut with Your Mutt and KC Humane Society's Dog 'n' Jog. They are also now big fans of doggy daycare, which we try to do at least once a month.

It has been an amazing experience watching Chip transform into the confident little dog we knew he could be. Each day his tail seems to wag a little bit more, and we just can't imagine our life without him.

He still has the biggest eyes, but they are no longer sad – he is now a happy dog.

Thank you Westie Rescue for everything that you do – without you Macintosh wouldn't have his brother.