Our little furry friends count on us for everything in life. When we adopted Shellie the Sheltie we had no idea the ride it would be. This little cutie got diagnosed with epilepsy at only one year old. The disease doesn't stop her from living her best life!
We got her as an 8 week old puppy months after losing our first Sheltie, Fred.
One day she started shaking, drooling, and would fall backwards. The first day this started it literally happened 12 times in that day. After a quick trip to the vet we were given some phenobarbital pills for her to take. Luckily, she is a pretty laid-back dog and will eat the pills right in her food. Our previous dog would sniff out pills and spit them out or leave them in the bowl, so we had to get creative whenever he needed to take one.
Unfortunately, the seizures didn't stop. Our vet tried adjusting the medication dose however it wasn't enough. We were sent to a neurologist. (Yes, they have a neurologist for dogs)
The neurologist ran some tests on Shellie and also offered an MRI. Unfortunately, an MRI costs thousands of dollars and ultimately you need to decide what you are going to do with the results. Will you subject your puppy to brain surgery? Given her age and her breed the neurologist agreed that an MRI was not required and instead try to control the epileptic seizures with medicine. At worst if we couldn't get the seizures to stop, she would need to be admitted to the hospital to give her an IV and get them under control. We were also told that her blood would need to be checked regularly to check her kidney function and if the phenobarbital was in a therapeutic range.
The neurologist provided us with a new medicine called clorazepate which is a rescue drug. This is meant to stop clusters of seizures when they start. We started giving one pill right away and every 8 hours until they stopped for 24 hours which luckily was right away. Her brain needed a bit of a reset to stop seizing.
She started doing much better. We knew that the meds would not stop the seizures entirely, but the frequency was less. We also now knew the telltale signs. If she wasn't right next to us and we found her with her white fur under her mouth all wet she probably had a seizure. One day she had a very major seizure that lasted a few minutes. Even with giving the clorazepate she was stuck in a cluster. She ultimately got to the point where she could not stand for a whole day. Off to the vet we went, and the prognosis didn't look good. This happened to be the week my Dad passed away also so I was a mess and back and forth to the hospital with him too. I couldn't lose them both.
We headed back to the neurologist who put my mind at ease, and we added another medication, potassium bromide. This medicine is a liquid that we squirt on to her food. She also gave us another rescue med, Valium. This could be used in extreme circumstances like what had happened.
Luckily, she started walking again normally and recovered. I have joined many Facebook groups on dogs with epilepsy and learned a lot. It really is trial and error trying to find the optimal medication combination to control the seizures. An ice pack on the back during a seizure helps and calming words. I even hold her when she has them but is only advised if they aren't too violent. Now her seizures are quite mild and monthly, and we give her clorazepate when they start. During the last few years, she has had ones where she has bit her lip and been bleeding or peed/pooped on the floor while having it.
The meds also have side affects. Phenobarbital causes excessive hunger so she wants food all the time. We have to monitor her food intake so that she doesn't get overweight. The clorazepate at the beginning would cause her to act drunk. She would sway side to side and sometimes fall over and be very sleepy. Those side affects have lessened but she does sometimes whine would putting her food like she is so hungry she can't wait.
I also learned we have to watch ingredients in treats. Specifically, things like rosemary extract which can trigger seizures. I read the ingredients on everything we buy her.
She loved the waterfalls.
She always dresses up for Halloween.
Here's to many more birthdays for this sweet girl!
They really are part of the family and we hope she is part of ours for a long time. We know she is a little extra work, but we have all learned to help her during seizures and respond quickly.
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