Seizures
The word even sounds scary, and it can be scary to watch your pet have a seizure. I live with a dog who has seizures. Until we could find the right medications and dose she would have seizures about every 3 weeks, and they would be cluster seizures, meaning one after the other up to three at a time.
Touch wood she has been seizure free for over three years. It’s a distant memory now of witnessing her have a seizure. It took time and trying different medications and dosages, but we finally got there.
Abby was an owner surrender at the local Animal Emergency Clinic where I work part time. She was purchased off of Kijiji by a very sweet family. It was their first dog and they fell instantly in love with her. Abby is a very sweet loveable dog and everyone that meets her falls in love. She is a small Shih Tzu and loves children – she will make a bee line to meet kids.
The family had three kids and everything was perfect until they witnessed her having a seizure. They did not know what was happening. All they knew, was that their sweet new dog that they had only had for a week, was flopping around on the floor like a fish. She lost control of her bladder and was frothing at the mouth. It lasted just over a minute.
They immediately took her to the Emergency Clinic and as they arrived, she had another one in front of the Doctor. The family loved Abby, but knew that they couldn’t keep her – it scared their small children so much. They asked that Abby be euthanized. The Doctor discussed with them their options as Abby was only a year old. They still did not want to keep her, so I was called to see if I could take Abby.
Abby has been part of my family now for just over 4 years. We love her, and now that she is on the right medication and dosage, she lives a perfectly normal life.
There are different causes of seizures. Abby has Idiopathic Epilepsy, meaning basically we don’t know why she has them. (Pets that seizure can be referred to a Neurologist for an MRI) to see if they can find anything that could explain the seizures.
Living with a dog that has seizures isn’t as daunting as you may think. Once the medication and dosages are found, your pet can lead a normal life.
