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Google ‘Westie Walks’ and you’ll find that walks specifically for this breed are held all over the world, as well as in New Zealand.
It seems that owners of the popular West Highland Terriers turn up in their droves to walk with others.
Gulf Harbour residents Del Cloete and her 16-year-old daughter Skye have two Westies and were keen to take part in a walk that has been held in previous years in Auckland, but found out that it hasn’t been organised this year. So Skye decided to take the lead and organise a local Westie Walk herself.
The Whangaparaoa College student has circulated posters around the community and on Facebook to promote her walk, which will be held on October 29, meeting in Western Reserve and heading around the Orewa Estuary Walkway. She says there has been a great response and she is hoping for a good turnout. “We see a lot of Westies on the Coast and there could be people coming from outside the area too,” she says. Skye will bring both the family’s Westies – eight-year-old KC and two-year-old JJ – on the walk.
Del says her son has allergies, and when they were looking for a dog, Westies were said to be a good option because they shed very little hair. She says once you’ve had a Westie, you are hooked.
“They don’t have to be walked as much as a bigger dog, but they are not lap dogs and they are very loyal and clever,” Del says. “They are good at learning obedience and tricks and KC has won competitions for tricks at local events.”
The walk is a chance to meet other Westie owners, but if you have another type of dog, they are welcome to come along too.
The Orewa Westie Walk takes place on Sunday, October 29, 11am–1pm.
