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In this section, we feature letters written
to us with the author's permission. These letters are heartfelt, as
are all the letters that we receive. We chose these though to
demonstrate that, with help, these affected dogs can live good lives and
even long ones. We hope you find their stories helpful and
encouraging. We know we did at Toby's Foundation.
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| Skye can be found in our Aussie album's memorial pages. |
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Please receive this donation in memory of our rescued two-year old "Aussie," Skye. The work you and the University of Missouri are doing is so important! We'll never know if Skye's horrific rages were the result of nature (epileptic or canine rage syndrome) or nurture (abuse before we got her), but we want her too-short life to count for something.
Sincerely, |
| This letter describes an epileptic Aussie living in Finland. Santtu can be found in our Aussie Album. |
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November 14, 2006
Hello, |
| This letter describes another dog affected by epilepsy. This touching letter is written by Zephyr, the affected dog's sibling. |
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April 28,2006 Dear Toby, When my parents brought me home, I was delighted to find I had a black tri mini Aussie sister. We had a lot of fun chasing and playing and running through the house. I can just see her with a toy in her mouth dribbling two tennis balls. When I was five months old and she was seven, my mom saw her have three partial seizures. My mom is an occupational therapist and was confident our family could handle this. When my sister was eight months old and one week before she earned her Canine Good Citizen award, she had her first grand mal seizure. Months went by and between her seizures we had a lot of fun. After diagnosis my sister graduated from beginning, intermediate and advanced agility. Through the Delta Society, she was certified as a therapy dog. We enjoyed hikes in the mountains and walks to the baseball diamond. All of this paralleled countless blood tests, Phenobarbital increases, the eventual additions of Bromide, Felbatol and Neurontin to her daily medication regimen and relentless seizures. My sister went to a neurologist at Colorado State University but she was never stable. In the final months of her life, my parents saw three seizures a week, then three a week end, then three a day. I saw more because I was home. Finally she developed either psychomotor seizures or dangerous post ictal behavior. She followed her second to last seizure with 11 hours of running, pacing and whining. She looked like a deer in the headlights. The rectal Valium my mom used in emergencies had absolutely no effect. After 16 months of aggressive treatment, my parents knew they could not make this stop, they could not make her better and they could not keep her safe. Hearts broken, they delivered her to the Rainbow Bridge on October 4, 2005. She was almost 25 months old. My sister was the dearest, sweetest, most affectionate dog ever even if she was bossy. My mom says she was wicked smart and that she had a black belt in manipulation. When I hear that I know she is forever loved. Since her death, I have done my best to step up to the plate to take care of things. My sister’s DNA and that of her family are at UMO and I understand they are very close to a breakthrough. Please look for our donation and use it to fund research there. I “see” a future free of epilepsy for the Australian Shepherd. Sincerely, Zephyr, the sight hound |
| This letter describes another young dog, Ace, with epilepsy and how this cruel disease has affected his family. |
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10/6/2005 My sweet Ace was born August 29, 2002 one of a litter of six males. He stood out from the moment I saw him. I first saw a picture of him at 3 days old over the internet and I fell in love with him at that moment. We were not even planning to add another dog to our household at the time. I held off telling myself that we didn’t need another dog for a couple of weeks. Then I saw a photo of him at 3 weeks and that was it, he was to be mine. I showed my husband his photo and he told me to contact his breeder and tell her we wanted him. We made the arrangements to fly him in when he was 10 weeks old, and the moment I saw him in the airport I was just blown away by him. He was everything I had wanted in a dog. I called my husband on the way home with him very excited telling him Ace was as beautiful as we had thought. I called his breeder and told her in tears that I could not believe that I owned a dog of this caliber. It was truly love at first site with him. He matured and never disappointed me. Everything I tried to teach him he learned and did it with a passion. In obedience class when I was teaching him the front command at 5 months old it was amazing to watch him learn. You could see his eyes light up when he figured out what I wanted him to do. You could actually watch him learn. Then at 9 months old he took his first Reserve win in conformation. He went on, with very limited showing, to earn a couple of other Reserve wins and two three point majors. We were on our way for sure. Then we started competing in the agility trials he was just awesome and such a joy to trial. We went to an agility trial April 2nd, 2005 and he finished 4 agility titles that day, 2 NADAC and 2 ASCA. He took first place in 3 runs that day. We had an awesome day. Then everything came crashing down April 4th 2005 at 7:00AM. My husband came screaming through the house that Ace was dying. My heart sank, I was not dressed and the dogs were outside going potty. I could not find my housecoat fast enough, it was only seconds but it seemed like hours. By the time I got to him my husband was already at his side. He thought that Ace was having a stroke. I looked at him and told him no it was a seizure. The seizure ended and my husband and I both cried. We took him to the vet who told me that it was most likely EPI, but we would wait and see if he had another seizure. Sure enough April 10th, 2005 at 11:00PM another seizure, so he started on medication the next day. We have been dealing with this ever since then. Currently he has seizures about every 3 to 5 weeks. We have gone through the guilt of what did we do wrong. Was it something we feed him or didn’t feed him that caused this? But we have come to the realization that we, nor anyone else, did anything wrong it was simply in his genes. His breeder was devastated as well, but she has been VERY supportive. She was responsible and called everyone who owned a sibling or half sibling to let them know about Ace. We have a very strong support group and I am thankful for that. But we are blessed as for us there is life after seizures. This summer Ace competed in Rally Obedience for the first time and took First place his first time competing. I cried when they handed me the first place ribbon. Each run is much more precious these days as I don’t take any of them for granted. Then the next day he went in and earned his second leg toward his Rally title. He will also be competing in the Pre-Nationals agility trial, so just because your dog has seizures don’t mean the end of the world. We simply had to learn to be thankful for whatever he could give us. If it is just to be our companion or maybe to compete at some level. Bottom line is I will never regret picking this boy to join our family. He has been everything I have ever dreamed of in a dog. We will love him for as long as we have him and try to do what is best for him and what he enjoys. We probably won’t finish his Championship because he doesn’t enjoy conformation. As for agility and herding we will move forward with that at a pace that will depend of Ace. He loves both of them and I think it would hurt him more if he was not allowed to continue with these. We will continue with Rally Obedience but I don’t know about traditional Obedience at this point, once again it will depend on Ace. So we are still thankful for our sweet Ace. He is still just as sweet and loving as he ever was, and is a very silly Aussie with a sense of humor. He loves to make us laugh and we enjoy laughing at his silly antics. Ace is a joy to live with and we will continue to treasure each day with him. God bless you, |
| Murphy lived to almost 9 years old. The two letters from his "Mum" about how he came into their lives and about his passing are used with permission. Murphy is shown in the memorial section of our Aussie Album. |
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October 29. 2004 My sweet boy, Murphy, died yesterday. Murphy lived with epilepsy for seven years (he would have been nine this January). A tremendous level of drugs were required to allow him even modest control. It was always a balancing act between number of seizures and level of ataxia. His seizures lately had increased in both type and frequency. We knew we were going in a bad direction. Murphy's liver was finally showing effects of all these years of Pb and then Felbatol, but that was the least of his trouble. During a series of seizures last Friday, he bit his tongue and aspirated a large amount of blood and saliva. He developed aspiration pneumonia, but that, too, was the least of his problems. Upon examination, his vet discovered he had a very irregular heart rhythm, sort of like a jackhammer. His heart rate was alarmingly high, yet he was barely circulation blood and had a very weak femoral pulse. Something, along the way, had damaged his heart. Murphy was in heart failure. We were told another seizure could be terrible for Murphy and us. We'd been so lucky to be able to control his seizures at home, never needing to rush to the ER. We made the decision to not let this be how Murphy spent his last hours on this earth. We wanted to make Murphy as comfortable as we could and spend a few more days loving our boy. Antibiotics helped his pneumonia and he did perk up just a bit. When our vet saw him on Wednesday he had 4 pounds of fluid in his belly and was showing signs of discomfort. For the first time in his life he didn't want to eat. I took him home and spoiled him rotten for the next 24 hours. All he wanted to eat was poached chicken and pizza crust, so that's what he got. He watched my every move and wagged his little stump every time I told him what a good boy he was. He even pushed his tennis ball into my lap one last time. On Thursday morning our vet, our dear friend, came to our home and helped us say good-bye to the sweetest Aussie we've ever known. He died with his head resting on my arm, my husband and I both petting him and me telling him how much I loved him. We told him all the wonderful Aussies that had gone before (Joey, Elsa, Bert, Cassie, and J.D.) were waiting for him. Murphy was the kindest boy. He never met a man, woman, child, dog, cat, or bunny he didn't love. Somewhere, there are six beautiful Aussies running strong and free. They all smile with shear joy of flying over the ground with strong legs and healthy bodies. And the biggest grin of all is Murphy's. This is what I feel in my heart and what I see in my mind's eye. And that is how I'll remember him all the days of my life. Hug your pups for me - |
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It was suggested to me recently that perhaps, in some way, we are chosen by our special pups. This got me thinking about my epi angel, Murphy. Years ago, very dear friends had a beautiful litter of Aussie pups. They invited me to come to lunch, so I could see them at that wonderful, roly-poly stage at 6 weeks of age. I had no intention of getting a puppy. I already had 3 Aussies. Besides, I was sure they were all spoken for. When I arrived, all the little tykes greeted me, but one in particular took a huge liking to me. He was a fluffy, adorable red merle. Even after the other pups wandered off, he followed me everywhere. All through lunch he watched my every move, and gave me the "full body wiggle" every time I spoke to him. I couldn't stop thinking of him all the way home and called my friends the next day. After jokingly accusing them of conspiring to make this happen, we all agreed the red merle boy must be my puppy. Twenty-one months later, Murphy had his first seizure. My friends were devastated. They couldn't stop apologizing. Murphy was the only pup in the litter to have seizures. All of them were spayed and neutered. As the years went by, we often talked about Murphy's life with me. (He was almost 9 years old when he died of heart failure). They always said how lucky he was that I was him Mum. We agreed with all our hearts that he picked me. Yet I always felt that I was the lucky one. If I could go back to that sunny yard full of puppies, even knowing what lay ahead, I'd pick that wonderful boy again. Hugs, |
| These letters are stories of longevity and survival in the face of epilepsy. |
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| Blue is 10 years old and is shown in the Aussie Album. |
| Blue's Mom and Dad are
writing this short letter to maybe help encourage other Australian
Shepherd owners who suffer with their dogs through seizures. Blue, a Blue Merle, was born September 1, 1995. We brought him home at ten weeks and everything was wonderful. We never had to house break him. He was full of energy plus. He went through the four classes of obedience and was outstanding. He was the smartest dog we had ever had. He loves everyone and always tries to please. He is great with other dogs and children. When I say dinner is ready, he runs to get Dad. Then one Saturday night we were getting ready for bed when suddenly Blue started thrashing uncontrollably. He was almost two years old at the time. The vet was closed and we were panic stricken. He finally managed to calm down only to have another attack. We managed to find an emergency hospital and were on our way. In the car he had one more seizure. At the hospital they said he had epilepsy and kept him until Monday when we could take him to our own vet. He evidently had several seizures while under their care. Monday we took him to our vet Dr. John Agostini in San Clemente. They made many tests and tried different dosages of medicine. Finally he was able to come home. Every so often he would have more seizures; we had pills to give him and then the vet would adjust his medicine. This went on quite often until Dr. Agostini was finally able to get the dosage that worked. Blue has blood workups often to make sure all is well in his system. He has been on Phenobarbital 64.8 mg., two pills in the morning and two pills at night. Also, Sodium Bromide 250 mg. once a day which adjusts as needed. Blue loves walking and riding in the SUV. He sits like a perfect gentleman. You would think he is harnessed in but he is not. He is the love of our life and on September 1, 2005 he will be 10 years old. We have been blessed to have him this long and we only pray he stays a little longer. He is our beautiful boy. Good luck with your wonderful companion and always make a routine that gives the medication at its due time everyday. Betty and Frank Venclik |
| Samee is 9 years old and his picture can be found in the Aussie Album. |
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Dearest Pam - It's Lynee and Samee again - I just got off the Toby
Foundation web site with tears in my eyes. You are truly special to
tackle this disease as you have. I would love to briefly tell you my
Samee's story - He will be nine on August 2nd, and I am truly grateful for
the time I have had with this wonderful pal. It has not been easy on my
husband and myself, but I can't believe nine years has gone by. We got Samee from a supposedly "reputable" breeder - to this day, I have not spoken to her since - I believe she had to know this was in the lines, as Samee was from a litter of five, his sister had it also, she was put down. Anyway, we brought this beautiful tri-black Samee home to my household of a German Shep and Wheaton Terrier at the time. They all got along wonderfully, although my Wheaton was very old and Samee was sort of the replacement dog, Brandee died a week or so after Samee arrived, I truly believe Brandee was satisfied with his replacement!!! LOL. Samee was 18 months when he had his first seizure, like you I didn't know what I was looking at as he began to run in circles, the circles got smaller and smaller until he fell over paddling with foam coming out of his mouth. I truly thought he was dying before my eyes. Then just as it had started, he popped out of it and again was my wonderful Samee. He was put on pb medication two months later when he had his second grand mal. My vet did not know anything about epilepsy or kbr etc. We all just sort of felt our way through this disease. Samee had one status episode over a weekend - I thought he was going to go or I was going to have to make a decision. After a weekend in the ER being pumped with valium and pb (they ran out of both, can you imagine!!!) He again popped out of it and after one week home and being very disoriented due to all the meds, I decided it was the last time I would go to the ER - I could do the same thing they did at home and it would be much less stressful for Samee. I had already found the wonderful Epil-k9 list and I do believe I could not have gotten through nine years without them. I have used so many of their tips, i.e., breyers ice cream etc. I have tried a lot of things over the years, i.e., rescue remedy, melatonin - all seemed to help at the time. Samee seizes about once a month - I seem to have it under control for him, I takes a lot of meds, he seems to tolerate them well. I don't let him get too stressed out - when he does seize, we have our protocol - mega doses of meds, ice cream, a butorphanol (muscle relaxing drug) to help him sleep it off. This all seems to get him through without clustering. I believe Samee has already won the battle - to have survived this for nine years - he is a happy, wonderful dog. My husband and I have decided as long as his quality of life is good, we will continue what we are doing. Samee shares his life with one more GSD, Karlee who is seven. We live in Connecticut now, but will be relocating to Sarasota Florida in a few months, something we have been working toward for over four years. I would have more dogs, but I want to get to Florida with just the two for now and let Samee live out his life without too much stress. I could go on and on with stories and episodes, but you get the picture. You are doing a wonderful services for us Aussie owners. I love reading all the stories. Keep in touch. Will get Samee's picture to you asap. Stay well, hugs and waggles to Toby. Lynee and Samee, CT
Samee
is on PB/KBR twice a day - 120mg/1000mg AM/180Mg/1000 mg pm |
| This letter dates the problem of epilepsy in Aussies back to 1984; this is the earliest case we have received thus far. The writer is a single parent and she credits her local vet for being instrumental in helping her handle the situation. The dog's name is Mandy and she is shown in the memorial section of our Aussie Album. |
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I
just happened upon a copy of the Sept/Oct
Australian Shepherd Journal and the 1st thing that caught my
attention was the "In Memoriam" for Shadow. What a cutie.
Next I saw the Feature Article on The Face of Epilepsy.
What a wonderful article. I too understand the suffering of living
with and loving an aussie with epilepsy. In 1984, after researching
many dog breeds, I put a down payment on a puppy from a litter born just
before Thanksgiving. I wanted a female and a blue merle
(preferably w/ blue eyes). This litter of 7 had 2 blue merle
females. I was drawn to one but the breeder said she would have
brown eyes and encouraged me to consider the other one if eye color was
important. A friend was with me who also suggested the 2nd
female. I agreed and left my down payment. On Christmas
eve I drove back to the breeders to pick up my puppy to have here for my
daughter for Christmas. Everything was set for me to take my
new puppy home except when I got there it was the other puppy who kept
following me. She had been my 1st choice until the others changed
my mind. This time I wouldn't be swayed. I told the breeder I
changed my mind and wanted the brown eyed one. I believe it was
fate. At 11 mo she had her 1st seizure. It wasn't real
bad and I wasn't sure what had happened so I did nothing. 3 mo
later another small seizure. then at 1 1/2 yr of age she had her 1st
grand mal seizure. It was Memorial Day and about dinner time.
It had been a hot day so when I called the emergency vet office they told
me it was probably just heat related and put some cold compresses on her
face. She couldn't get up and just laid there. I freaked
and called my regular vet at home. He told me to meet him at his
office. He was the one who told me that it looked like she had had a
grand mal seizure. We discussed the other small seizures and he said
she might have epilepsy. He kept her there for several days and when
I picked her up he confirmed it. I don't remember what tests he did
or anything other than he said her condition could be treated with
medication. It took awhile to get her on the right meds and
regulated. Even then once or twice a year she'd have a grand mal and
would need to be hospitalized. I can't speak highly enough
about my vet and his help and support through the entire life of my dog.
I could call him anytime day or night (usually it was in the middle of the
night) and he'd get us through it. I lived daily with the fear I
might forget to give her her meds and that it would trigger a seizure.
She was the best dog I ever had. So many people would ask me why I
didn't just put her to sleep. They knew the cost of medication, the
toll of guilt that I may have done something to trigger it, the worry of
how long she could live like this. I told them it was fate that had
me choose her. If she had gone to someone else they may not had
dealt with her condition. The breeder was of no help. I think
they resented me calling them when I found out she was an epileptic.
I didn't want to return her or get my money back. I just wanted to
know if any of the others had the same condition and to notify them for
future breedings. They said none of their dogs ever had epilepsy.
All in all she lived 12 years. If she was alive today I would
certainly donate her blood to help the cause. I would very much like
to send a picture of her for your photo album. I will try and see if
I can scan it and email it. If not is there an address I can mail it
to? Today I have another aussie and a aussie cross. Both
are healthy. Sincerely, P. Dargan Ohio |
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