CHARLESTON, SC……..Sweet Dazzy is 2 year old small Shepherd Mix we rescued several months ago. She was turned into animal control because she had seizures. She had been adopted out several times and was always returned. This was it for this poor girl. Dazzy is not a typical case for us but I knew her time was coming to an end for a condition she had no control over. The Shelter had never seen her have a seizure but had been told that she did and was on Phenobarbital for it. We also noticed she had a head tilt and would walk in circles a lot and sometimes had this blank stare that lasted only briefly. Other than that she was perfect in every way.
Once we received her, we had her seen by a Specialist to determine the cause of the seizures and had her in the hospital for over a month to make sure we did not miss anything. Any dog that we suspect of having seizures is never placed until we know the cause and the exact dose of medicine to prevent any seizures. Only then do we place the dog. The MRI did not show anything out of the ordinary nor did the ear procedure to see if she had an inner ear problem or infection. The Neurologist recommended we slowly take her off the Phenobarbital to determine if she really was a seizure dog since no one had ever seen her have one. The information was simply word of mouth. During the cutting down on the medicine we began to see sweet Dazzy have a rather blank stare on her face. She never went into a seizure but we knew something wasn't right. We went back to her normal meds. This past week-end our dear girl had a major seizure that caused her to aspirate into her lungs. She was given valium drops to stop the seizure and seemed to be fine afterwards. We now know she is a seizure dog and her medicine needs to be regulated. Unfortunately, our little Angel developed aspiration pneumonia and had to be rushed to ICU in Charleston where double pneumonia was diagnosed. A tracheal wash was done and a sample was sent off to determine the infection she had developed. Both lungs were full and she had to be put in an oxygen chamber where she has been for three days.
What a lot of people don't realize is that an animal should not be put on Phenobarbital unless the animal absolutely has to be on it. The drug has lots of side-effects that you would never want your dog to experience. We think a lot of her blank stares were more from the drug than anything else. Another side-effect that we were working on is increased urine flow. Dazzy has to be let out often because of this. Don't put an animal on this drug just because you think they might be having a seizure. I get asked this all the time and am amazed at the people that do this for fear of seeing a dog have a seizure if their dog or cat walks in circles or has a head tilt. There are lots of medical reasons for that happening that are far removed from a seizure.
We still do not know what happened to Dazzy to cause her to have a seizure but we do know she will have them. Right now, we are dealing with saving her from the pneumonia. We need your help to save her and all the prayers you can say for this incredibly sweet little dog. We love this little girl and it breaks our heart to see her in this state.
