duck-shaped pain

20 February 2001
Furry Brain Overload

Scary moment this weekend. Sunday afternoon, I was having some serious quality Pajama Time -- sitting in the big recliner, eating leftover pizza and generally planning to avoid wearing shoes at all that day -- when I heard this weird bumping noise out on the back deck.

It was a sound similar to the noise Hoover, the dog, makes when he decides to lay down on the deck all of a sudden, or like the sound of patio furniture being moved around, only it was louder and more frenzied than that.

I got up. Looked outside. It was the dog. He was laying down on the deck, so my guess was right, more or less. Except that he wasn't just laying there being a dope, like usual. His body was stiff and oddly posed and he was twitching uncontrollably.

I ran outside, calling to him. He didn't respond. I looked at Hoover as he continued to shake. His mouth was open and he was drooling all over the porch. The look in his eyes said you will not believe how freaked out I am at this moment.

I really had no idea what to do. I didn't know how to stop it or calm him down or anything like that. I moved some things out of the way so that he wouldn't bump into them (the twitching was causing him to move around slightly). I tried placing my hand on his belly, but that just provoked a deep growl, so I thought that might not be a good idea.

All of a sudden, it stopped. I stroked his head and back to calm him down, and then he got up and walked around like nothing had happened. I gave him some food and more water, which he wolfed down, and then proceeded to his normal peeing/napping/barking at unseen spirits behavior.

There are almost no veterinary services available in town on Sundays, unless you have sick ranch or farm animals. So there wasn't any place I could take him in to get checked out, unfortunately. I stayed with him for awhile to make sure he was okay, and he seemed fine. I felt really bad, though, since I didn't know what to do for him -- like I didn't really deserve to have a dog.

I needed to go out for a bit (to get dog food -- oh, the bitter irony), came back, checked him out again -- all clear. Later, I left to go out to dinner, and when I came back, the dog was sitting out on the deck, peering in the window like usual, except he had a big bloody gash on his muzzle.

It was a fresh wound, too -- he was bleeding mightily, whimpering and looking sad. My dad called one of the veterinary offices that had a 24-hour message service, hoping that they would call in the morning so we could take him in. After recounting what had happened to him earlier in the day, our theory was that he must have had another fit or seizure, but this time, he hit his head on something during it, causing the would.

Surprisingly enough, we got a call back from the vet's office about ten minutes later. After having the day's events related to him, the vet tentatively concluded that Hoover had probably had an epileptic seizure.

Hoover, you see, is half collie. It's fairly common for collies and dogs that are part collie to become epileptic after the age of three or so (Hoover is five). There's a couple of other dog breeds that have the same problem, but it's most common in collies. There's really not a lot you can do for it other than medication, but some dogs have serious cases of it, some more mild.

He advised us to watch him for the next few days and if he started having seizures or other unusual behavior, to bring him in as soon as possible. So far, so good, but I bet we're going to have to take him in sooner or later. Right now, though, it's like nothing happened. But watching him lay there, shaking and freaking out like that was pretty scary.


I am so behind on my email. If you wrote me in the last week or so and haven't received a reply, never fear. I just had some problems getting mail most of last week and I have a big-ass backlog. Just what I needed.

previous | next



the past + the future


also, see here.

newest
older
random entry
about me
links
guestbook
email
host
wishlist


www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from hypothetical wren. Make you own badge here.