Sam came into my home in the summer of 2002 as my 5th foster dog. He actually had been in the rescue in March of that year when I first saw his photo. I wanted to foster him, but I had my 1st foster dog Molly & wasn’t prepared to have two & he already had a foster family. When my foster dog Molly was adopted I inquired about Sam (who was either Champ or Scout at that time) & I was told he had been adopted. I fostered 4 other dogs & then I was told that Sam was being returned & did I want him. The quick answer was yes, I thought he was adorable & I was looking for my first dog as an adult. I had a house so could now have a dog, I had birds already. Sam wasn’t in my home long before I thought this dog pees a lot & often & he might have a UTI, so got permission to take him to the Vet. He was a foster still, they preferred you didn’t make a quick decision to adopt. I think they worried people would adopt & stop fostering, that wasn’t my intention.
I took Sam to the Vet Clinic & while I was waiting another foster mom was there waiting & she was petting Sam & we talked. She told me to have the Vet look at his stomach, honestly I had no idea why she said that, but he had rolled over so I thought she saw something. I didn’t get much time to ask her why? before they called Sam to go back. This clinic took the dog back, but I was to stay upfront. Honestly, now that would not fly with me,& I don’t think clinics do that anymore. The Vet came out a short time later & I asked if he had a UTI & she told me that wasn’t her first concern. She said his stomach was infected & he had ulcerations that got infected as though he was forced to lay in his urine for some time. I explained I had just started fostering him & that he had been adopted & returned. She felt this was abuse/cruelty by his adoptive family. He had a UTI & was given medication for his stomach & a UTI.
I found out Sam was a UIC collage of Veterinary Medicine practice dog. He had pulled from a shelter in southern IL & was used for giving experience to Vet students by drawing blood, giving shots (think saline mostly, but unsure). The dogs were there for a certain amount of time then they were to euthanize them (they had to practice that as well). The students that were supposed to euthanize him asked if he could be sent to rescue, he was maybe 6 months old & was so sweet. The person in authority agreed & Sam was sent to rescue.
Due to all he had been thru in such a short time he had some security & submissive issues. He submissively peed & he excitedly peed & he had fear of certain people so he’d pee. He was insecure at first, but so sweet & smart.
Sam had been vaccinated when he came into the rescue so I was told he didn’t need them for about another 9 months. I adopted Sam & when he was due for vaccinations I took him in & had them done like I was told you should do. I now have a different view on this & you can read more in my blog post #31 Vaccinate or Titer.
It didn’t take long after Sam was vaccinated that he had his first seizure. Sadly he never had mini or focal seizures he had grand mall seizures from the first one. I contacted my Vet & told him what happened & he said to monitor him it might be a one time thing, but it was not. It has been years now so exactly when he had the next one I can’t recall but it wasn’t long. The Vet started him on Potassium Bromide & we did blood-work & monitored him & it helped but not like expected. I was doing research & I wanted to try natural alternatives, so I found a Vet who treated pets holistically. He did a comprehensive evaluation & his assessment was that chiropractic was the way to go. This was Sam’s second male Vet & I realized he was not comfortable with a male Vet picking him up. Sam snapped in the Vets direction, a warning & never got close (he could have) & I think that didn’t make the Vet feel comfortable. We had a few chiropractic sessions but the seizures kept coming. I research & I asked if acupuncture was a possibility. He told me Sam was too sensitive & to take him back to my Vet for medicine. I was so disappointed, but I took Sam back & the Vet started him on Phenobarbital which gave him terrible side effects, he ran into walls, fell down the basement stairs (thank God not all the way down).
The Phenobarbital didn’t stop the seizures either & Sam ended up with close to 25 seizures in a 24 hour period & ended up at the Vets all day & when it got close to closing he needed to be transferred to a 24 ER Vet. He was on so much Valium & so exhausted he couldn’t walk. A friend helped get him to the ER Vet, he was transferred by stretcher to her vehicle & we drove about 50 mins to the ER Vet that was most set-up to deal with this. They met us outside with a gurney & took him upstairs immediately to tend to him while I got him registered. I had told them I leaned towards the holistic side & praise the Lord they had a holistic Vet that worked there & she was on call.
We would soon learn Sam was chemical sensitive & we were going camping, so I had applied Kill Tick & it triggered this seizure event. Chemicals applied or licked or even smelled seem to trigger seizures.
Dr Adams told the staff to bathe Sam where the Kill Tick had been applied. Honestly I was like he is zoned out & the Vet said easier, he won’t try & resist. They had a sorta rubber top table with holes & they hosed & bathed him to remove as much of the chemicals as they could. Sam spend the next 24 hours there, less & less seizures but they didn’t want him released till they felt he was safe. The set up at this clinic was so cool, they had an ICU wing & there were cameras & monitors on every cage & they could be seen in two different areas. I was allowed to visit him during his stay, a good part of it was out of it, but I did once get to take him outside to go potty. It was hard to leave him & yes very expensive, I had to take out a credit card to pay for the time in ER. The pet insurance I had was not great & only paid for an insistent once & I had already used it for a seizure. I should investigate pet insurance & blog about it sometime.
Dr Adams talked to me about starting Sam on herbs & acupuncture as an option to prevent seizures. I told her what the other Vet said & she had never heard such a thing & what did that mean. Dr Adams had lots of degrees & letters behind her name, so she was very smart & educated. I say like many real smart people, she didn’t always come across as nice, she was confident & arrogant, but I trusted her.
Sam started prescription herbs & acupuncture weekly for a bit, then less as his seizures got under control. I wrote more about acupuncture & Pets in post #132. We found in the summer when more yard chemicals were used that he needed acupuncture & more frequently. He was on the herbs daily for about 6 years. Dr Adams left & moved across the country. I think to teach & we saw a few other Holistic/Integrative Vets at that clinic till they were bought out & closed the holistic part of that clinic. I followed one Dr driving over an hour, then found a clinic & Dr that we liked, who was only 20 mins away. She retired early & no holistic Vet there. The we found the Vet who treated Sam for a few years till his end. Sam was seizure free for over 3 years. Sadly cancer took him, it was quick, Dr suspected it started in his spleen & was in his chest cavity when it was detected, he was weaker for the last 3 weeks but the last day he could not move very fast without falling, so sadly we had to say goodbye. I am grateful for the time I had with him, he loved to swim, play fetch & hang out with me. His doggie brother was Ace whom I adopted(my 55 foster) as my second dog.
I learned a lot through this but you couldn’t pay me to knowingly go through it again. I removed chemical cleaners from my home, & yard. I no longer burned scented candles, or used blinking Christmas lights. I washed Sam’s feet after walks if anyone used chemicals on their lawns. I talked to my neighbor who had lawn service & found out the schedule & wouldn’t let Sam out within 2 hours after they were done. Per Dr Adams I only used Frontline Plus (for fleas & ticks) if necessary & only 1-2 times a year (6-8 weeks apart). She also recommended only using Interceptor Plus (heart-worm preventative)May- Dec & only every 6 weeks. I was told he was never to go under general anesthesia, so when he needed a procedure due to a cyst Abscesses after a Vet did a procedure to it. She wanted to put him under & I said no & I found him a new Vet & his new Vet did gas, which was safe for him.
I kept an ER kit at home & took it anywhere I took Sam, it contained various things I might need including rectal Valium from my Vet. She taught me how to use it & sadly I had to use it a couple times. I was glad I had it & knew when & how to use it.
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