Zeus

Apparently the stress of being our mascot was too much for Zeus because he woke me up at 2:30 this morning having a seizure. I first heard a tapping, like popping gum out of a plastic wrapper and I thought he may have gotten into the trash and was chewing on something. When I got up though and found him, it was his toenails tapping on the tile floor. I picked up one of his front paws and his nails were extended and his paw felt like a muscle cramp, which is what I thought it was at first, but then I felt the other paw and it was the same and his whole body was tense. I just petted him telling him everything was ok, I guess trying to talk him out of it. I’m not even sure he knew I was there, and after talking to the vet this morning, I think that a good assessment.

It lasted a couple more minutes, so I yelled for Larry thinking we may have to take him to the emergency vet, but thankfully 30 seconds or so later, his body relaxed and he shakily got to his feet. He acted all excited, like what are you guys doing up, so I don’t think he knew it had happened at all. It was pretty horrible, and even after we got back into bed, my hands were tinkling from his nails pressing into them.

I spoke with the vet this morning and he said that epilepsy is actually not uncommon for sheepdogs, and a few other breeds. In fact, his Labrador had the same thing and lived with it for 7 years without medication. He recommended running some blood work just to rule out any other issues like liver or blood sugar problems, but more than likely it’s epilepsy. He also said to monitor him and keep a journal to make sure that they aren’t getting longer or more frequent, but as long as they stay apart, that there’s really nothing to do.

I do hope that’s all it is. Zeus has been with us since we were married and he’s our first baby