Seizure Scare

One of my worst fears is that something bad will happen to Morey and I won't be able to help him. I try not to dwell on this possibility but it is something I am aware of each time I take him swimming, or go for a walk in the park. I always make sure there are other people around so in an emergency there would be some help available. There would be nothing worse to me than being helpless when Morey needed help.

Unfortunately, last week I found myself in that exact position. We were at the airport, going through security and getting ready to head home to Indiana for a quick visit when I noticed Morey have difficulty standing. It looked like his legs were sliding out from under him and at first I wondered if the floor was too slippery for him to stand. Within a few seconds he was laying on the floor panting and his legs were moving and it took my scrambled mind a few seconds to realize he was having a seizure. I was literally the next person to to through the security line and had already put my belongings on the conveyor belt but all my focus was on Morey and I blocked out everything else. A TSA Agent came over and asked what was wrong and I told her my dog was having a seizure. I couldn't even process what to do next. I knew Morey needed help but I wasn't sure what to do. I kept talking to him but he didn't seem aware of my presence.

Eventually they closed down my security line and a TSA Agent stood next to us to keep people from bothering us. One of the agent asked me about my things and went to get them once I confirmed I was not getting on a plane anytime soon. Someone else went to get my checked luggage off the plane as I sat there watching my dog in distress and unable to do anything. Since there was not any medical help immediately available I called my regular vet since I had no idea what to do. The person answering the phone got a vet on the line quickly and the vet helped me get a plan for getting Morey to the vet as quickly as possible. I also called my mom in tears and let her know I would not be getting on a plane to come home.

By then there were 4-5 TSA and airport staff standing by me asking what they could do. Trying to keep it together I said to get a luggage cart to put Morey on and then see if a customer service vehicle could take me to my car in the parking lot. I know animals in distress can behave differently and I was a bit worried about having two strange men pick up Morey and lift him onto the cart but there didn't seem to be any other options. Morey seemed to be coming out of the seizure but he still looked confused and couldn't control his back legs (thankfully he had not lost control of his bladder/bowels).

Once the customer service vehicle arrived Morey was once again lifted and into the back seat. He seemed to be somewhat agitated and the men turned him so he could see me once I transferred to the back seat. They broke down  my chair and we headed to the parking lot where two other men met us and lifted Morey into my car. I have never driven in that state before and was glad there wasn't much traffic and the vet was not far away. When I arrived I transferred to my chair and rushed into the vet and asked for (shouted for?) help to bring Morey in since he still couldn't walk. A Vet tech came out and helped Morey out of the car and into the vet. It was actually a good thing he still had his vest on because she used the handle to help him stay on his feet. They rushed him into the back and I sat there filled with adrenaline and emotion.

 I sat there crying and trying to fill out paperwork until the vet tech came out to ask a few questions. I told her he had been fine up until the moment the seizure started and that there really wasn't any opportunity for him to be exposed to or ingest anything since I had been with him all morning. She said I could wait in an exam room and the vet would give me an update soon. I had tried my best to keep from letting my mind jump to the worst possible conclusions but sitting in that waiting room was hard, I took my phone and looked at pictures of Morey being his happy self since I hated thinking of him as I had last seen him.

The vet eventually came in and said that he was stabilized and that none of the bloodwork showed any cause for the seizure. She said his neurological exam was normal so it did not appear there was any damage from the seizure and it could just be a random one time thing. Since the medication for anti-convulsants is pretty powerful she said she did not want to start him on any meds unless he has another seizure. She wanted to keep him for the afternoon for observation and then asked if I wanted to see him. Of course!

The vet tech brought a stumbling and wobbly- but much more aware- Morey into the exam room and I tried to be calm and happy (neither of which were what I was actually feeling) as I greeted him. He was wearing "seizure bells" (really just jingle bells) around his neck so they could hear if he was having another seizure. They had also shaved his leg and put in a catheter in case they needed to start an IV if he had another seizure.

Morey came over and laid down right by my feet like "I don't know what is happening but I want to be with you". I wanted to love on him and never let him go but I knew the Vet tech had other work to do so after a few moments I very reluctantly let her take Morey back. That was one of the hardest things I've had to do and I felt so alone once Morey was gone. But at least I was leaving him doing a lot better than he had been even when we had arrived only a short time before.

There was nothing more I could do at the vet but I was still so agitated and emotional I wasn't ready to drive home and face being alone without Morey. I stuck around the vet's office for a few hours, updating people on Morey's status and trying to calm down and figure out what to do next. Finally I went to get some lunch and drove home to take a nap. Entering the house without Morey by my side or there to greet me was a horrible feeling. I laid down but it took a while before I could relax enough to sleep.

A call from the vet woke me up, giving me an update and asking if I wanted Morey to come home or for them to keep him overnight for more observation. She said he was walking better but was still very wobbly. I knew I wanted Morey home but also wanted to make sure I would be able to take care of him. She assured me he could walk and would be fine going outside. She also said she would send home medication to give if he had another seizure. With that to reassure me, I said I would come pick Morey up. I couldn't bear to think of him spending the night at the vet if it wasn't necessary.

It was such a relief to see Morey doing better when I went to pick him up! The vet tech went with me to make sure Morey could jump in my car. He stumbled a bit on the landing but he made it.

At home I dragged out  his dog bed (not used too much since he prefers the couch) and put it in a spot where he could be near me but not in the way. He was very tired and lethargic and stayed put most of the evening. He did get up for dinner (which helped assure me he really was getting better) and by the end of the night he jumped up on my bed without too much trouble.

What a day! We were both worn out by the events of the day but I think we were also very glad to be together at home. I got so many calls and texts and Facebook messages from people who were upset to hear about our day and it was reassuring to know we have so many people in our lives who care about both of us. Despite the horror of the day, there were definitely things I was thankful for!

 1) Thankful he didn't have his seizure on the plane. I had a hard enough time getting him to medical treatment from the ground, I really can't imagine what I would have done if he had had his seizure on the airplane or during our layover!

2) Thankful I decided to drive my own car to the airport. I almost always have a friend take me to the airport or take a Super Shuttle but for some reason I decided to drive my own car. This made it so much easier to get Morey to the vet and home quickly.

3) Thankful all the airport staff were so helpful. There were a number of people who went above and beyond to make sure Morey got the help he needed and they gracefully put up with me not being in my right mind while they did it! I sent an email to the airport after the fact and they said the would pass it along to their staff. I wanted them to know how appeciative I was for their help and to let them know that Morey is ok.

4) Most of all thankful that Morey is fine! It was a very scary day and I kept thinking I might lose my best friend and constant companion and I am incredibly thankful he is doing well!

Happy Fall!

Fall is my favorite season but it's a bit disappointing in Texas. I long for cool crisp mornings and evenings, picking apples and watching the leaves change color. Instead, we have 90 degree weather and everything is dying and turning brown. But I do my best to make it festive, mostly by making tasty fall foods (usually involving pumpkin) and decorating the house inside and out.

 I think it was three years ago we planted this ash tree in our back yard and since then it has been a tradition to take a picture of Morey by the tree. This year Morey was trying to hide in the shade because it was so hot!

The one thing I enjoy about fall in Texas is planting a winter garden. While everything else is dying it is fun to plant some new life and watch it grow. We planted lettuce, cabbage and snow peas this year. It will be a few months before we get any produce but I enjoy watching them grow in the meantime!

House Guest

Morey is used to being an "only child". He gets all the attention, all the toys and all the treats. He likes other dogs but he hasn't had much experience sharing "his" things or having another dog in "his" space. Last week I watched a friend's dog while she was out of town and it was interesting to see Morey adapt to having another dog around the house!

Camilla riding in style!

Camilla is a small black terrier mix who is very sweet (I know "terrier" and "sweet" don't always go together!). She and Morey had never met before so we made sure to introduce them in the dog park at my friend's apartment before I put them in the car together to drive home. Camilla wasn't too interested in playing with Morey so after their initial introductory sniffs they both went their own ways in the dog park.

Camilla keeping watch at the window

 After exploring the house and yard, Camilla took her station on my bed, looking out the window. She is very quiet and never barked at any of the people, dogs, bikes, etc. constantly going by. She stayed at home while Morey and I went to work and that is where she seemed to spend more of her time while we were gone.

Morey and Camilla sharing my bed

Camilla and Morey laying "rump to rump" on my bed

Despite their initial disinterest in each other Morey and Camilla did seem to enjoy each other's company- at least when it came to sleeping! Morey wasn't sure he liked sharing his space on the bed but since Camilla is so small she was able to fit into the space left by Morey. I was basically on my own to find a way to sleep in the little space left by the dogs!

 The weather had finally cooled down

and both Morey and Camilla enjoyed spending time outside in the yard. They are both so people-oriented that they want someone outside with them. If I left them outside for a few minutes while I stayed inside both of them would stand outside the door wondering why they weren't being allowed back in!

The fourth day Morey and Camilla were starting to show an interest in playing with each other. I caught a few moments of them playing chase in the backyard. It was funny to see their size difference but Camilla can definitely hold her own! I think Morey was actually a little scared of her intensity since he is used to playing with goofball labs and goldens!

Camilla is also an "only child" so she is not used to having to share anything with other dogs either. She didn't play with toys too much but she did like one of Morey's tug toys- her favorite time to play was right before bed when she would run around like a maniac for a few minutes! Morey wanted to play with her but she would growl and bare her teeth if he came close so he eventually learned that Camilla would not be a good tug of war partner. She also liked one of his interactive feeding toys which is what I use to feed Morey his meals and she would also growl at Morey if he approached that toy when she was near it. Morey respected Camilla's boundaries and would leave a wide space between Camilla when she had a toy.

Feeding time was interesting because Camilla is used to nibbling on her food throughout the day. That becomes challenging when you have two dogs in the house and one is more food oriented than the other! It was easy on weekdays because I would put down Camilla's food when I left for work and she would have all day to eat it. I would then feed Morey at work so there was no conflict. Dinner time was a bit more challenging- I ended up putting Camilla on a leash while Morey ate (which doesn't take long!). Morey is so good once he was told to "leave it" he ignored any leftover food that was down for Camilla!

Camilla with all the toys!

One day I went in my room and found that Camilla had taken Morey's ball (his most favorite thing ever!), a toy and his bone to her bed and was laying next to them. As you can tell by the expression on Morey's face in the next picture, he wasn't too thrilled by this arrangement! Luckily we have plenty of balls, bones and toys to go around so I made sure to get more out for Morey to have all for himself.

Morey is not happy with Camilla taking all the toys

Any time my roommate or I spoke to one of the dogs the other one was sure to appear- not wanting to miss out on any of the attention! It was funny to see Morey realize that my "baby voice" is not reserved exclusively for him! Morey and Camilla were constantly jostling for petting position- while Morey has size to his advantage, Camilla was able to cuddle up close to us in ways that Morey couldn't.
                 We all enjoyed our visit with Camilla and hope she will come to visit again soon!

Behaving Badly

Morey is such a seasoned professional that sometimes I am taken by surprise when he does something "dog like". Usually there is a good reason for it and I'll admit that it is usually my fault for not setting up him for success or ignoring signals he is giving me about the situation. So, just to clarify the title of this post, it is me who is the one behaving badly, not Morey!

The other day I was at Costco and I was trying to get Morey to close the door to the refrigerated section. He was pushing on the wrong side to make it close and I was trying to get him to understand he had to go around and push from the other side. We weren't making much progress and I could tell Morey was getting frustrated but instead of taking a break or giving him something to succeed at we kept at it. I was very surprised when Morey let out a loud bark of frustration, startling everyone in the aisle including me!

The bark jolted me back into dog trainer mode and after ignoring him for a moment (as to not reward the barking) I had him do a few easy cues "sit" "stand" and "touch". We celebrated those successes and moved on (after I closed the refrigerated door!). Next time I want to work on this I will use it as a training moment and come prepared.

Looking back on this situation I realized this was not the first time Morey has barked in frustration- he actually does it a lot when we are training for agility but since we are usually outside and that is his "fun" time I don't usually do anything about it. There are a few lessons I learned from this 1) Don't let Morey get to the point of frustration where he feels the need to bark. Whether we are working on agility or service dog tasks it is my job to make it fun and set him up for success. If Morey isn't getting it and is starting to bark that means I need to change my criteria and training method so he can be more successful. 2) I need to respond to Morey's barking bouts in a way that discourages the behavior. Usually this means simply turning away and disengaging so he learns that barking= end of interaction. He learns quickly so I know it won't take him long to learn other ways to manage his frustration.

Hopefully I will be posting another update soon showing Morey doing this task correctly!

Working Overtime

The start of the semester means the staff in our office participate in various events around campus to promote our office and the services we provide to students. Most of these events involve tabling- setting up shop with our handouts and brochures and talking to students about the work that we do.

I was tabling at an evening event for incoming Latinx students and settled Morey under the table. After setting up my material I went around to the front of the table to see how it looked. I had to laugh when I saw the tip of Morey's nose sticking out from underneath our tablecloth. I guess he found the air under the table a bit stuffy or perhaps he was silently protesting having to work overtime!

Stalked by Vacuums

Morey does not like vacuums. My roommate calls ours "Mr. Hoover" so we always warn Morey when "Mr. Hoover" comes out of the closet to visit. Morey will go off to hide when it comes out but he can't resist keeping it in sight so the vacuum can't sneak up on him.

Our vacuum stopped working recently so we had it sitting out in the living room. Morey would walk around it carefully- not fully trusting it wasn't going to spontaneously turn on and start coming after him. He was dismayed when I got out our Roomba and that began to chase him around the house!

Shortly after that I was shopping at Goodwill and was checking out with Morey standing next to me. All of a sudden Morey started leaning up against me and putting his head in my lap, acting somewhat frantic. This was unusual for Morey so I looked around to see what had scared him. I had to start laughing when I saw the man behind me had not one but two vacuums he had pushed up behind us! Morey's worst nightmare- being stalked by vacuums! The cashier, man with the vacuum and I all had a good laugh as I finished my purchases and we escaped from the vacuums!