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Friday, January 31, 2014

Sheltie Seizure Scare

Our old man dog Duke (a.k.a. Dookie Palooki) gave us a scare yesterday.

Seems he had a seizure or a stroke.... he was all stiff.  I have had this happen with two other shelties in the past, so I knew what was happening.  I held him and soothed him, as he was scared and kinda frantic. Later he has a crooked looking face, with one eye closed more and one side of mouth puckered up and limping moreso on one side.   He was pretty exhausted and laid down on his side, breathing heavily.

Duke is 10 years old, and has a huge tumor on his chest that has grown firm and spread under his armpit.  Had him at the vet 2 weeks ago, and we decided things have spread into his ribcage and probably his heart.  He probably has other tumors now, pressing in the brain or on the heart. We will keep him comfortable, and when the time comes, we will let him go with grace and love.  There isn't much we can do even with a surgery. Shetland sheepdogs life expectancy is only about 12-13 years old.  Seizures are very common in elderly shelties.

We think he had a seizure recently prior to this one. Steve noticed on Wednesday while I was gone to my quilting class, that the sound of Duke's bark changed.   We had noticed the same change in bark when Duchess was nearing the end last summer too.

Little Finnegan was all worried about his big buddy Duke. He laid close and kept sniffing his face and licking the corner of his mouth, just like a pup does to a mommy dog.


I watched him closely and he was resting for a few hours.  Soon he was up and drinking water and walking around.  A few bites of food, and a gobble of a hot dog slice had him back to his pretty normal self!   He even tried to fetch a ball one or two times, and then went and laid back down.  

He slept well, and didn't rustle around too much.  This morning he went out and did his business as usual!  Looking pretty chipper and happy, and the face seems to have relaxed back to his normal shape.  We are so relieved, but know to watch for more in the future. 

When my old sheltie Max had seizures, he only lasted a month.  He was a confused little boy who was sooo lost, and seemed to forget who we were, where his things were, where to find his bowl, which door to go out etc.   It was like the seizures erased all his memories.   

When our old sheltie Bani Bon Bon had them, she made it a year.  Once in a while after one, she would wander off and get confused, but she usually bounced back.  Till the end when one left her paralzyed.  Then we had to do what all good owners do when the quality of life is over.  Sigh. 

But for now this old guy is rallying around and having his good time with us.... and we love him.  So glad Duke has been here to show new Finnegan "the ropes" and how to love us and live with us and enjoy the lives we offer to our pets.

Hopefully he will be fine to go travelling in HIS motorhome in a few weeks!   After all, the motorhome belongs to the dogs.  We humans are only here to drive them to new places to sniff!


We have started training little Finnegan to go out in other parts of the yard on a leash to do his business.  He has only been in his little penned in yard area for doing that stuff, and now he has to learn to do it other places when we go on our upcoming vacation.  

I remember the first time we took Duke out west, he didn't like peeing on anything other than grass.  It got kinda hard for him to not go pee, he was holding it all the time until we found grass!   The further west we got, the less grass.  Soon he had to learn to go on bare desert gravel, but he didn't like it!

White Sand Dunes National Monument was very very confusing to Duke on that vacation. He wouldn't pee on the white sand, and thought it was SNOW!!! He tried to eat it!  Goofy Mutt!



Once we hit GRASS again on our way home from a desert vacation  --- Duke rejoiced when we found him some grass in Oklahoma!  Getting back home to grass was HEAVEN to him again....  But he hates going home and getting out of the motorhome.  He holds a little temper tantrum each time we get home, because he wants to keep on going going going!


Let's hope we have another fun trip with him, our Little Motorhome Doggie Duke....

For now, he is resting well and comfortable.  He is relaxing in the colored rainbows from our windows, looking at me and wondering why I am crying when I am typing this.  Dang.




25 comments:

  1. God bless all oyou. It hurts so much to watch them go near the end. My old Lab, Magie, had an inner ear infection, and it acted like a stroke. She wound up walking with her head tipped to one side. It is hard to play God at the end, but it is the kindest thing to do. I'll be praying for all of you.

    Dave F

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  2. Sounds like there are hard times ahead for you, but it's obvious you will do the right thing when the time comes. Thinking about you...

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  3. And I was crying along as I was reading.... so sorry. That last photo with the rainbows is just priceless.

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  4. I am always here for you with an ear, shoulder and a hug.

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  5. We lost our Sheltie Jake last year, he was 14. He also started having siezures, his first one I freaked out but was more prepared the second time. He also had arthritis in his back and feet. His feet were so bad he had rolled his front feet over to the side. We had to lift him in and out of motorhome the last year of his life. Once the seizures started he was so disoriented at times it made the walking so much worse we decided it was time. We still miss him. Will be thinking about you during this difficult time.

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  6. So sorry for the pain you are going thru watching your beloved Sheltie during these tough times. Hoping their are more journeys to share with your buddy!

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  7. I think many of us are crying along with you. From my experience, Lady knew exactly why I was crying, and I think when they are ready to go they want us to get it over with quickly.

    Lady never did like any part of the west when it came time to "go" - she hated the prickly dry grass from Oklahoma westward. Whenever we got back east she would love to roll on her back and enjoy the sweet green grass of "home". I miss it too.

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  8. Hope he snaps back and is able to take many more trips. Our dogs love to go in the motor-home.

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  9. Sad times. Happy memories though. He knew why you were crying, I am sure. Hugs

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  10. I'm so glad Duke's feeling better now. Maybe things will be good for a long while. Sure hope so. It's such a good thing that the new pup joined your family while Duke is still with you - he is making things so much easier for everyone - he's just been amazing with Finnegan. :)

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  11. It's so difficult to watch our beloved pets get old and sick. I think in some ways it's more difficult because they can't tell us how they feel like a human can. Hang in there.

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  12. Soooooo happy Duke is feeling better and relaxing.....
    Finny is a pal and a fast learner !!!! Hang in there; very glad you have the knowledge and background regarding Duke's care.... All the Best.

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  13. So sorry to hear Duke is not doing too well. It's so hard when they get old and begin to fade. Enjoy and treasure the time you have left with him as I know you will. It has been 6 months now since we lost our last dog and we still miss her terribly. But the memories are forever and both dogs will live on in our hearts for the rest of our lives. God bless.

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  14. Tears are falling as I read this. Our girl's are getting older and I know we will also be facing this tough time. Lots of love and hugs for Duke and you.

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  15. So sorry to hear about Duke, it's soooo very hard when our dear pets get to that age. We are having to deal with our little Buddy, only 10 1/2 arthritis, ear infections, and now a torn ACL.

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  16. Sad to read this...your love for Dukie is so special.... he knows and feels it.
    Those are precious pictures.

    ((hugs)) Kelly



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  17. Oh, Karen and Steve, we feel such empathy with you. We know how much you love Dukie Palookie and how much he loves you. But what a lucky dog to have you as his family. He's had nothing but love and good experiences in your home. We know you'll continue to provide him with all the love, play, cuddling and support that he needs. Hugs to you, Dukie and Finnegan.

    Susan A.
    http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com

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  18. Tis is one of those times I can't think of anything to say....so here's a big (((HUG))) from me and Maggie.

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  19. So hard to read and the photo of Finnegan snuggling up to Duke did me in. Thinking of you guys.

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  20. So sorry to hear that Duke is having difficult times. He is so lucky to have young Finnagin to snuggle with. Give Duke lots up hugs and special time, it sounds like you know just what to do when he needs a little help. Lots of hugs. Becki

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  21. I'm so sorry to hear about the seizure/stroke. It sounds like he's coming out of it pretty well, so hopefully he will not have another one anytime soon. Poor guy. I love how Finney is taking care of his big brother. He seems to realize there was a problem and didn't act all puppy crazy. Love the picture of him cuddling Duke.

    Given them a kiss for me.

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  22. So sorry to hear you are at this point in Dukey's life. One of our Dachshund's, Ginger, had several strokes. The first one was a year or more before the end and we weren't even sure what really happened. After that, she seemed to be fine. She had another small one and quite a while later another while we were living temporarily in our motorhome while waiting for our household goods to arrive when we moved to San Antonio. The last one left her frantic and pacing seeming lost and listing to one side. After a day we knew we couldn't let her continue to suffer through that. She got to play in her new yard several times but never to live in it. Hugs to you...K know how hard it is and hope that Dukey has some more precious time to spend with you and another RV trip to show Finnegan the ropes.
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Colleen
    Traveling with the Longdogs (Blog)
    http://Travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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  23. Sad times! Please add my tears; been through it more times than I want to remember.

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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  24. Thanks for having the courage to share this with your blog readers. I understand the grief and the anticipation of future loss.

    I'm glad they have you!

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  25. Our dog had seizures for several years. The last year of her life they became worse and medication didn't seem to help. they affected her mind and at the end all the things she had loved all her life, she seemed to have just forgotten about them. This is a very hard time and I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. Just love him and enjoy the time you have left.

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