Sandy the Herricane [sic] is coming.

From the Ridgefield Press 10/27/12 

"Saturday, noon —  Hurricane Sandy’s predicted path was shifted south late Saturday morning — but Connecticut is still in its sights. [...]

While the storm may officially hit land south of Connecticut, the northern part of the hurricane, which is typically the most destructive part of a hurricane or tropical storm, is set up now to hit southwest Connecticut."

OMG, That's us!!

Sophie, the diary of a southern Belle (epilepsy)

Some of you (very few) know that Sophie (age 8) suffered 2 grand mal seizures last wknd. These were followed by a few petit mal seizures, i.e. over time the intensity of the seizures diminished. 

Sophie is back to herself & we haven't had any recurrences at any level. 

She has been to vet, all examinations including xray, urinalysis, T4, bloodwork have been within normal range for a lady of her age. 

Causes for a sudden onset of epilepsy can range from the usual idiopathic to brain tumor with change in blood chemistry, lyme & stress in between.  

I've elected not to do an MRI as the resolution to a brain tumor is a non-starter & is, in and of itself, painless.

So I've started to seek out other explanations for this sudden onset of seizures. I've settled on stress.

Within 24 hours of bringing Ziggy (a REALLY crazy, 7 mo old, fun loving, noisy, smart, FAST MOVING little thing into the house) Sophie suffered her first seizure. 

Although the cast of characters has not changed, we have gotten a handle on some of Ziggy's antics and restored some ORDER to the house. And, as I said, there have been no epileptic recurrences. 

I'm writing to ask if any of you have specifically had this kind of situation with a Bouvier and a new arrival that changed the dynamic of the household. 

If so I'd appreciate your comments, suggestions, advice. Condolences and that sort of thing are unnecessary (although the thought is appreciated). 

Sophie is a rescue. After conferring with her foster mom, we don't/can't get any more background health information on her first 7 years. We do know she was abused & basically abandoned. We do know she ran away from home & survived (feral) for 6 months, only to be returned to where she started. 

She's smart & sensitive -- especially to sticks, anger, etc. She shows some insecurity under certain circumstances & feels she must be in charge when we are out & about, i.e. very protective. She gets along famously with Stella. She may feel she lost control when Ziggy entered the picture but I am conjecturing. 

Please let me hear from you, the larger Bouvier community if you've had the experience I've described. 

I am posting this on every Bouvier group site that I know of and on my blog. 

You can respond below or to me privately.

Thanks so much. 

-- 

Jan, Stella Bella, Sophie & Sigmund (aka ZIGGY stardust) in Ridgefield, CT USA

BouvSite @ http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier

Blog: http://janrifkinson.blogspot.com

Photos: http://janrif.zenfolio.com

jan.rifkinson@gmail.com

203.431.1691 <eve>

Advance pro-activity in defense of the Bouvier

Meal Time

Sophie, the diary of a Southern Belle (Epilepsy)

10/24/12 

Sophie had two gran mal seizures over the wknd followed by a couple of petit mal seizures. 

If a dog is epileptic it is usually seen between ages 1-2. As Sophie is a rescue we have no record / information on that so we are assuming old dog epilepsy which can be caused by a number of factors: electrolytes out of whack, kidney problems, tick infection, stress, brain tumor. 

We are testing for what can be tested for up to MRI for brain tumor. Rationale being if she has a brain tumor (painless), then what? Sophie has not had a recurrence since Sat night & I am up most of the night every night watching her b/c that's when the episodes occur. 

So far nothing out of the ordinary has been revealed by the tests. She had xrays of chest, kidneys, pancreas, stomach w/o any negative results. We are waiting for urinalysis. Ticks negative. 

If Sophie has more episodes we will put her on anticonvulsants, i.e. phenobarbital or some variant. The prognosis for controlling epilepsy medically is optimistic, short of a brain tumor. If she has no other seizures it will be chalked off to idiopathic (don't know what the f**k it is) or possibly stress. 

There is some logic to the stress diagnosis as the first & most serious episode occurred within 24 hrs of bringing Ziggy into the mix. His extremely high level of activity causes stress even on us but he is sloooowly calming down, learning the routine of the house & some modicum of manners (he's +/- 7 mos old), very smart, very willing to learn, is a lover & is extremely cute. However, Sophie's health comes first so we're keeping our fingers crossed -- no more seizures & Ziggy's learning curve. 

I discussed all this w Sophie's foster mom as she has a right to know what's going on & she told me that she took in another foster shortly after Sophie came to live with her & that Sophie became so agitated that she moved the other foster elsewhere. Sophie had very little confidence when I got her (more than she had when she was first rescued) & she certainly has a lot more now but possibly not enough to convince herself of her position within the household. Stella, OTOH, could give less of a damn. 

I will update this entry as warranted. 

Human Training

This is a very simple lesson which most people don't understand. It is the Bouvier's responsibility to walk with you, pay attention to you, see where you want to go... not the other way around. Try explaining this concept to an inexperienced owner who thinks they know it all and you encounter lots of b.s. reasons why this doesn't work with their particular Bouv. Wrong.

Zigmund (aka Ziggy) in San Antonio TX, ETA Newark Int'l Airport 10/18/12 16:30