J0HN_R1
Notable member
I want to preface this by stating this is meant as a documentation of my experience (and my best friend's) incase he has another one, and to assist others who may have similar circumstances. I will update after his medical consultation.
Sunday Feb 20, I was having an afternoon nap with Benson who was across my legs as usual. I woke up around 3pm to my boy having a seizure. Not sure if it started exactly when I woke, or if I woke up because it was happening... Either way, I was frantic.
Without really getting into the horrific images that are permanently burned into my brain now, the just of it is... Neck contorted sideways, choking/coughing, eyes rolled 1/2 way back, legs frozen straight out, shaking violently. Lasted 90 seconds I'm guessing, give or take 30 seconds.
When he started coming out of it, he was super disoriented. He started barking & growling at me, even bared his teeth when I got real close. I gave him space, and he tried to jump down off the bed but his back legs still weren't working. He hit the floor like a deer on ice, pissed & discharged scent gland, and eventually scrambled out of the bedroom after almost biting me when I tried to assist him.
Once he made it to the livingroom onto his bed, he turned and "stood his ground" - barking aggressively and looking sideways at me. It was disheartening, to say the least. But I gave him his space while I tried to phone a vet. That's another story in itself, but I digress. I had also phoned my mother, who lives 300 yards down the street, to come help me.
By the time she arrived, he had "snapped out of it" for the most part but I was still in full panic-mode and he was definitely shaken up. It took him ~60 minutes to come back to his usual demeanor, after comforting and coaxing him to drink. I'm still not back to "normal", if there is such a thing.
At the moment, I haven't taken him to the vet but we are going tomorrow. I just need to find a competent vet who won't take me to the cleaners looking for "possible" medical explanations. And after reading the multiple threads, both here & "another board", I have an idea of where the vet should start looking.
Benson's "profile" - DOB = 09/20/2018 , INTACT, vaccinated up to 2yrs (nothing since), he's approx. 80 lbs but I feel he should be ~10 lbs heavier (he looks thin to me), he's always ate the same kibble/food (I picked it based on the "all meat-products" content) but in the last ~6mos we started feeding him a new (Purina) treat. And yes, his kibble is ACANA CLASSIC RED. Admittedly, I haven't exercised him as much as he needs in the last 6mos. I've had my own medical issue to deal with also.
One other concern is the fact he's had 3 ticks pulled of him last summer, 2 of which were attached. He was not on flea/tick meds, as they were never an issue before. But last spring, we moved across country to an area (unknowingly) infested with ticks. I had never seen one before in my life, I'm close to 50 y/o.
I've been watching him fairly closely for the last 2 days, he seems 95% but there's definitely something different about him. Sometimes now he just stares blankly at me, which both concerns me & breaks my heart because it reminds me of the seizure. He's also been rather "humpy" with me, something he does now & then when we play in the house for extended periods or play more "aggressively".
Please be gentle on me if you feel I've done my best friend a disservice by not having him vaccinated/etc, or that we haven't gone to the vet clinic yet... Thank you.
Sunday Feb 20, I was having an afternoon nap with Benson who was across my legs as usual. I woke up around 3pm to my boy having a seizure. Not sure if it started exactly when I woke, or if I woke up because it was happening... Either way, I was frantic.
Without really getting into the horrific images that are permanently burned into my brain now, the just of it is... Neck contorted sideways, choking/coughing, eyes rolled 1/2 way back, legs frozen straight out, shaking violently. Lasted 90 seconds I'm guessing, give or take 30 seconds.
When he started coming out of it, he was super disoriented. He started barking & growling at me, even bared his teeth when I got real close. I gave him space, and he tried to jump down off the bed but his back legs still weren't working. He hit the floor like a deer on ice, pissed & discharged scent gland, and eventually scrambled out of the bedroom after almost biting me when I tried to assist him.
Once he made it to the livingroom onto his bed, he turned and "stood his ground" - barking aggressively and looking sideways at me. It was disheartening, to say the least. But I gave him his space while I tried to phone a vet. That's another story in itself, but I digress. I had also phoned my mother, who lives 300 yards down the street, to come help me.
By the time she arrived, he had "snapped out of it" for the most part but I was still in full panic-mode and he was definitely shaken up. It took him ~60 minutes to come back to his usual demeanor, after comforting and coaxing him to drink. I'm still not back to "normal", if there is such a thing.
At the moment, I haven't taken him to the vet but we are going tomorrow. I just need to find a competent vet who won't take me to the cleaners looking for "possible" medical explanations. And after reading the multiple threads, both here & "another board", I have an idea of where the vet should start looking.
Benson's "profile" - DOB = 09/20/2018 , INTACT, vaccinated up to 2yrs (nothing since), he's approx. 80 lbs but I feel he should be ~10 lbs heavier (he looks thin to me), he's always ate the same kibble/food (I picked it based on the "all meat-products" content) but in the last ~6mos we started feeding him a new (Purina) treat. And yes, his kibble is ACANA CLASSIC RED. Admittedly, I haven't exercised him as much as he needs in the last 6mos. I've had my own medical issue to deal with also.
One other concern is the fact he's had 3 ticks pulled of him last summer, 2 of which were attached. He was not on flea/tick meds, as they were never an issue before. But last spring, we moved across country to an area (unknowingly) infested with ticks. I had never seen one before in my life, I'm close to 50 y/o.
I've been watching him fairly closely for the last 2 days, he seems 95% but there's definitely something different about him. Sometimes now he just stares blankly at me, which both concerns me & breaks my heart because it reminds me of the seizure. He's also been rather "humpy" with me, something he does now & then when we play in the house for extended periods or play more "aggressively".
Please be gentle on me if you feel I've done my best friend a disservice by not having him vaccinated/etc, or that we haven't gone to the vet clinic yet... Thank you.
Hopefully the vet is helpful as I know how frustrating it can be when something is wrong but they dilly dally. Keep us posted on how his vet visit goes! I'm sure more folks will chime in!
