My husband answered the call that came in at 7am. We had been asleep which is weird for us; because we are typically up by 5:30am every morning, but we were away. As soon as he said our sitters name I knew something was very wrong. He quickly passed the phone to me and I listened intently. Elsa had peed and pooped her bed; she was panting heavily, shaking and couldn’t get to her feet. I could hear her panting in the background and asked if that was her. It was and it was very heavy panting. My mind was racing as my sitter explained her symptoms.
We’ve been through a lot of old dog stuff, as many of you know. Immediately I thought of Vestibular disease. A disease that commonly affects old dogs. I asked about her eyes, “were they flashing?” Nope. The heavy panting was giving me a flashback but I couldn’t remember to where? The fact that she couldn’t stand had me considering another spinal stroke. But the first thing to do was get her downstairs.
Elsa is a big girl and it takes a lot of strength to pick her up and carry her around. Thankfully my son Brad, his wife and son live close to us and he was my first call. He went over immediately and got her down the stairs and comfortable. He stayed with her a bit and then called us with an update. She already seemed better and was on her feet when he left our house.
There was a lot of back and forth with my sitter who was amazing through it all. Having someone who cares so much for your dogs is so important when you travel; especially when the unexpected happens, as it did. In all our years of living with dogs and traveling; this was the very first time we’ve had to cut a trip short and come home. There was no question that we were going to try to get home but these days it’s not easy to find flights last minute. Thankfully we found a flight but it would get us home late; but at least we’d be home that same day. That was Sunday, it is now Tuesday.
Elsa had pooped, peed, was shaking, panting and couldn’t stand. I sat and thought. Spinal stroke was my best guess until my flashback memories started to line up. Luke!!! Our previous male who has been gone now more than 10 years; was epileptic and after a seizure, Luke panted heavily and couldn’t stand. Elsa may have had a seizure. Luke never pooped or peed which we were very lucky for but he did have horrific seizures. They were 20 minutes long, very intense and afterwards he panted heavily and couldn’t get to his feet. So this is my best guess so far.
When we got home late Sunday night Elsa was still on the bed that our sitter had set up for her. She is actually there right now with Riggs. She got to her feet, smiled and was very happy that we were home. I think I was more happy than she was. Getting my eyes and hands on her gave me such a comforting feeling. I could see exactly how she was doing and what was going on.
Right now she is great. She went for her early morning walk, caught some balls and is eating like a champion. We have recently discovered that she has a tumor in her lungs and plan to have another xray done soon to see if it is growing or changing. Elsa also had diarrhea while we were away which is a nightmare; but we’ve already turned that around.
We are not rushing off to the vet. I will take this week to see exactly what is going on with her so that I can assess how she is doing. So far so good. But as I always say, anything with an old dog can be a serious situation. She had a great sleep Sunday and Monday night and is now sleeping as per usual. I think with the information I was given that she had a seizure. Why is the question.
This girl has been through a lot. An anaphylactic response to a bee sting, a spinal stroke 5 years ago, laryngeal paraylsis which is very slowly getting worse, constant uti’s that we are keeping at bay, a tumor in her lung…But she’s a trooper. She is very happy, eating well, sleeping great and much loved.
I will keep you all posted.
Having a pet sitter that you trust to care for your dog at this level, priceless.