Airport Trauma

I had another flight coming up and after Morey's seizure at the airport I was concerned about how he might react next time we went to the airport. Since we only live 20 minutes away from the airport I decided to take a field trip and see how Morey responded when we didn't have the pressure of actually getting on a flight. I had tried to see if I could get special permission to go through the security line since that was where Morey had his seizure but the airport staff member I contacted said they were still working on a process to allow service dogs in training access to the airport and that it wouldn't be ready for a few months. I figured we could at least walk through the unsecured areas so armed with some tasty treats and tennis balls we went into the airport, trying to be optimistic.

I was watching Morey like a hawk and at first nothing seemed off. We walked over to the security line and that was when Morey began panting and shaking excessively. He was still accepting beef jerky but he was in obvious distress. We quickly retreated back to a place where Morey seemed to calm down a bit but we were both shaken by the experience. I had been hoping that Morey might not even remember his seizure and so wouldn't have any negative associations with the airport but that hope died when I saw how he reacted. It broke my heart to see Morey so distressed and since flying is a regular part of my life it also made me fear for his future as my service dog.

Austin has three security lines and after "striking out" at the first one I wanted to test out the other ones to see if Morey's reaction would be the same. I waited until Morey had calmed back down and then we cautiously approached the next security line. To my surprise, he remained calm as we walked through the line as far as we could. Seeing how that went, we proceeded to the last line which was the one where he had actually had the seizure. I was anticipating more of a reaction to that line but again he didn't seem to respond in a negative way.

Given Morey's extreme reaction to the one security line I knew that our next flight was going to be a bit trickier than I had hoped. Last time I ended up cancelling my trip after Morey had his seizure but this time I was going to Europe and cancelling wasn't an option. Neither was letting Morey get so stressed that he had another seizure. Over time I knew we might be able to make some progress with exposure to the airport but that would take time I didn't have.

I called my vet and explained the situation, asking if she could prescribe some anxiety medication for Morey. She agreed that it might be a good option and so I got some doggie Valium for Morey. Medicating Morey wasn't my first choice but under the circumstances it seemed like the best option.