Tuesday is our busy day. Both kids have school which means multiple trips to Grace during the day. I also had a friend over to do some crafting that afternoon. After school is when it gets really busy. Kendall has dance class at 4:15 and Riley has scouts at 6:30. Instead of a den meeting this week, we were given the opportunity to go to Chili's for a fundraiser dinner - 15% of the bill went to his pack. We met another family there (who's hubby is in the marines and gone until March). Her two oldest kids are the same ages as our kids and they get along really well.
So after a crazy day, and a nice meal with another adult, we get home to discover Penton had peed and pooped all over the kitchen. She came hobbling out of the family room (where she's NOT allowed) into the kitchen to see us. Immediately I knew something was wrong. She could barely walk and she doesn't usually have accidents in the house. She also didn't seem herself - she was shaking, panting and extremely nervous.
I tried to call our vet, but unfortunately by 8 pm, they were closed. I called the 24hr. ER Vet in Sandy and explained what I knew. They suggested she had a seizure. THAT freaked me out. All I kept thinking about was I can't lose my dog tonight while Andy is away. Not in the middle of the night with two kids by myself. I asked the vet what I could do to ease her anxiety and what to look for. I decided to just wait and see would be the best course of action.
In the meantime I had Riley put himself and Kendall to bed (He's so dear to help me out that way. Both kids said prayers for Penton before bed.) I called Kevin and put him on alert. I warned him that I might need him to come watch the kids in the middle of the night while I took her to the vet if she had another seizure. I also sent a message to Kenna who is a friend of mine who watches our kids for us a lot.
This is a picture of Penton Tuesday night. You can see how scared she was by the look in her eyes. She's a tough dog and can tolerate a lot of pain, but to see her scared and nervous freaked me out even more.
I got Penton comfy and calmed down near the laundry room so I went into the family room to clean some things up and to look up some info on seizures. I heard Penton shuffling around on her bed so I went to check on her. It was dark to try to keep her calm and peaceful. In the dark I smelled urine. I later came to find that she had peed while continuing to lay in it. She was shaking and panting heavily again. I was concerned she had a smaller seizure. Thankfully just at that time Kenna called to check in on Penton. Kenna offered to come over and help me figure out what to do. As soon as Kenna took one look at her she became the voice of reason for me. She helped me get Penton into the back of my car and I called Kevin on the way and asked him to meet me there. I was terrified I'd have to put her down and didn't want to do that alone.
We got to the vet and he took a good look at her and decided that she didn't have a seizure but instead has idiopathic vestibular disease. I had never heard of this before but he said it's common in older dogs. The nerves between their middle ear and brain go haywire and they get really dizzy and have balance problems. That was why she couldn't walk well. She also had a head tilt and eye twitching. The nervousness and panting were do to the stress and fear of not understanding what was happening to her. He said there is no medication for this condition and that it should subside in about a week.
What a relief that it wasn't seizures or a stroke, which both have similar signs as vestibular disease. The sad thing is that she struggles to walk. The carpet, which she's not allowed on, and the grass seem to offer her the most stable conditions for walking. She falls over or her back legs give out often. She hasn't eaten for the past 2 days which also has me concerned. She's lost her spark. She looks so sad in her eyes because she doesn't understand what's happening to her. It breaks my heart because I can't do anything to help her feel better. I have broken my rule about the carpet for now. She slept there last night. We leave a light on at night for her to help orient her if she wakes while it's dark. I try not to carry her so that she feels more grounded, even if it means her legs give out.
I'm hoping that she recovers sooner rather than later. She's such a sweet hearted dog and I hate to see her suffer like this, but I'm thrilled that it will pass and she should be her old self before long. We adopted Penton when we lived in Albany, NY from the humane society. She's been with me through almost my entire married life. She was our "kid" for many years and has always been an important part of our family life. I know at some point, her life will end. I'm just very thankful that it wasn't this week, while I was solo. I'm also so grateful for Kevin and Kenna. Knowing I could count on both of them in a difficult time while Andy is gone. It's so comforting to have that security here with no family to lean on in times of struggle. And just in case I didn't have enough going on this week, God decided I could use another challenge and allowed me to get sick. I've been under the weather (fighting it as long as I can) most of the week and it's finally all caught up with me. Guess He thinks I can handle it, right?
If you have an older dog, you may want to check out more on vestibular disease HERE. I had never heard of it before and if I knew about it in advance I might have been less freaked out.
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