Said Goodbye To Picasso Today

[Guest lynne893]

I'm heartbroken as I write this.

 

We brought home our foster greyhound, Picasso, on September 30. He is 4.5 y.o., and has seizures, which we didn't know about (nor did the rescue) going into our foster situation. DH and I have a 9 y.o. greyhound, Timber, also. Picasso had been adopted out in 2006, and the family returned him to the rescue a month or so ago. They didn't mention any health problems.

 

The fourth day we had him, he had a big, violent grand mal. My husband and I had never seen an animal (or human) seize, so we were caught completely off-guard. The vet ran bloodwork, including thyroid, and nothing pointed to a specific problem. He did well for 20 days, then seized again. The second seizure didn't seem so bad- but my perception might be altered because now I knew what to expect. I took him to our vet, whom we respect and love, and she and I decided to wait for the next before exploring medication. He'd recovered pretty easily from the first two seizures, so I thought DH and I might be able to handle things, the way they were going so far.

 

Then he seized again yesterday while I was at work, just a week after #2. My husband's been abroad for work these past 2 weeks, so I'm all alone dealing with this, but I KNOW he seized because there was foamy saliva and blood smeared and pooled up near his bed, which was totally disturbed. No question a seizure while I was gone. But when I got home and saw this, he was calm and seemed okay, so I walked and fed our dogs and all seemed okay.

 

Just after he ate dinner, he started acting very erratically, almost aggressively. He kept stomping on the floor and "mouthing" me and Timber, and cried constantly and loudly. He had a wild look in his eyes. I actually became fearful for my/Timber's safety because Picasso clearly wasn't aware or in control of his behavior. So I took him to the emergency vet, who gave him 5 mg Valium, calmed him down enough to go home and go to bed.

 

I made the decision to return him to the rescue because I don't feel in my gut that DH and I can give him the home he needs. I thought that love, patience and responsibility were enough, but he needs a home where mommy and daddy are home more (I'm gone minimum 8 hours a day, and my husband is freelance, so his schedule is inconsistent and he travels for work also). Also, I worry about the interaction with our 9 yr old grey.

 

My heart is absolutely breaking tonight. I think of him confused and sad, back at the rescue's kennel.... I'm just so sad for him. I miss him terribly, and wanted so much for this to work.

 

I guess I just need to "talk" since my husband is still out of town, and I know you all have "been there."

 

Thank you for being there,

Lynne

[Guest mecki]

I'm sorry...some situations are out of our control. Sending prayers that Picasso finds his special home soon and you find peace.

[greyhounds1234]

You absolutely did the right thing for him under the circumstances. There's a home for him out there and someone will be able to be home with him.

I completely understand your sadness but you did the right thing.

[Diane4114]

I've never had a seisure dog, but have friends that have.

It can sometimes be a struggle finding the right meds, and level of those meds, but once found they can live normal lives as long as they are on the meds.

 

Also sometimes things such as Heartguard, Frontline, etc. can cause them.

Some people will start keeping a diary of what they have been feeding, what meds given when and when the seisures happen to find out it there is something triggering them.

[Trudy]

Make sure his new foster home gets him on meds so the seizures can be brought under control or at least made to happen much less often.

[greypuppyluv]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I have a friend who has a seizure dog and it can be stressful on everyone. What group did he come from? You mention a kennel and I'm only aware of a few groups around here that have kennels.

[Guest lynne893]

hi again,

we kept careful records (i'm a little OCD) of all his seizures, and kept in close communication w/ Operation Greyhound, the rescue group, throughout. They'll get him started on meds immediately.

 

Operation Greyhound is located in El Cajon, CA, east of San Diego. It's about 3.5 hours from LA.

 

thank you all for your kindness. this is hard. i just hope the big lover boy finds a wonderful home, soon.

[Guest Greytluv]

You did the right thing. For his safety and yours.

[Fiona3]

In view of your schedule, I think you really did the right thing for him. Perhaps he can find a home where someone is with him for periods of time during the day to help him thru the seizures until they are under control with the right dose of medication. It must be frightening for him and whoever is with him to experience this. It's a hard decision for you but you have his best interests in mind.

[nyGreys]

I'm so sorry.

Edited November 1, 2008 by nyGreys

[zimsmom]

You absolutely did the right thing. The group will work on getting the seizures under control & find a home where maybe his human's are around more often. They do exist. Since you have a 9 year old maybe you could try fostering an older dog which seem to always be around. Best of luck but you made a good decision.

[Guest argolola]

You did the right thing, although I'm sure you are broken hearted. Prayers for both you and Picasso.

[LBass]

I know how terrifying seizures can be to witness. It does sound as if Picasso needs to be on meds to help get as much control as possible over his seizures, so I'm glad the adoption group will be following up on that. There is no shame in recognizing that the needs of a particular dog are just not a good fit for your family.

 

--Lucy

[Guest greytgrandma]

I've never had a seisure dog, but have friends that have.

It can sometimes be a struggle finding the right meds, and level of those meds, but once found they can live normal lives as long as they are on the meds.

 

Also sometimes things such as Heartguard, Frontline, etc. can cause them.

Some people will start keeping a diary of what they have been feeding, what meds given when and when the seizures happen to find out it there is something triggering them.

 

our little angel Shasta had seisures when she was on heartguard.Very mild seizures but enough that we had to take her off of heartguard. She was having them everyday.

 

You are doing the right thing.Your group can find the right meds now that they know about the seizures and get him on the road to his forever home.

[jodyksam]

Poor baby I hope he will find a home soon and especially be put on some meds to help control his seizures.

 

Take care

[CaliforniaGreys]

You are both in our thoughts and prayers!

[crazygang]

Hope Picasso gets the experienced home he needs right now and has some relief with meds from these violent siezures - poor thing.

 

And pray you have peace of mind for making a difficult decision but the right one for all concerned.

[Guest brit1]

I completely understand. However, Picasso needs to be put on anti convulsants immediately or he will die a horrible death from prolonged seizures that will get more violent and closer together. As he as had so many close together already his brain will start having them more and more. I speak from experience btw. Some dogs only have infrequent, mild seizures that don't need medicating but he needs to see a vet asap and get on medication. Please make sure they realize the seriousness of this situation. anne

quote name='lynne893' date='Oct 31 2008, 11:15 PM' post='3664145']

 

The fourth day we had him, he had a big, violent grand mal. My husband and I had never seen an animal (or human) seize, so we were caught completely off-guard. The vet ran bloodwork, including thyroid, and nothing pointed to a specific problem. He did well for 20 days, then seized again. The second seizure didn't seem so bad- but my perception might be altered because now I knew what to expect. I took him to our vet, whom we respect and love, and she and I decided to wait for the next before exploring medication. He'd recovered pretty easily from the first two seizures, so I thought DH and I might be able to handle things, the way they were going so far.

 

Then he seized again yesterday while I was at work, just a week after #2. My husband's been abroad for work these past 2 weeks, so I'm all alone dealing with this, but I KNOW he seized because there was foamy saliva and blood smeared and pooled up near his bed, which was totally disturbed. No question a seizure while I was gone. But when I got home and saw this, he was calm and seemed okay, so I walked and fed our dogs and all seemed okay.

 

Just after he ate dinner, he started acting very erratically, almost aggressively. He kept stomping on the floor and "mouthing" me and Timber, and cried constantly and loudly. He had a wild look in his eyes. I actually became fearful for my/Timber's safety because Picasso clearly wasn't aware or in control of his behavior. So I took him to the emergency vet, who gave him 5 mg Valium, calmed him down enough to go home and go to bed.

 

I

Thank you for being there,

Lynne

Edited November 1, 2008 by brit1

[TheFullHouse]

Poor boy, my heart goes out to him. I can't believe he's been having seizures and not been put on meds and what's worse, no one ever told anyone about the seizures! Stress can bring on seizures and I can't think of anything that will cause more stress than being bounced twice. I pray someone gets this poor boy on meds and gets him controlled and that someone out there will be willing to give a seizure dog a chance.

 

There is nothing sweeter than a seizure dog. Just look at Saint.

 

 

 

edited to say: Geez, I should have read this better. I didn't realize this was a foster. Hopefully he'll find a new forever home soon and stabilized on medication.

Edited November 1, 2008 by JillysFullHouse

[jenners]

Sweetie, for his own safety, he needs to be in a home with people who are there more; the aftermath of a seizure often means they need some help. You did the right thing for him, but I know it hurts

 

Jennifer

[4greyhounds]

Poor baby, I am sorry for both of you and I know that must have been really hard, can you please see that the group get him on meds? :grouphug

[Guest lynne893]

hi everyone. thank you so much for your support.

 

yes, the rescue group is VERY pro-meds. they're all about giving the dog a good quality of life, even if the side effects of the meds shorten his lifespan for a year or two. they're very sensitive to a dog's well-being and comfort, this i know, and they repeatedly told me that they'd get him on meds ASAP.

 

i feel confident that he's in good hands at the greyhound rescue (the rescue founders/owners have two epi dogs themselves), i just hope his forever home will indeed be forever and will be filled with as much love as we had in our hearts for him. i'm sure he'll be better off, ultimately

[Guest LindsaySF]

I hope Picasso feels better soon. (I can't believe the vet didn't put him on meds!)

 

[Guest PhillyPups]

My thoughts and prayers are for Picasso. I only hope that the "rescue founders/owners" have enough compassion for a double bounce with seizures to foster him as they are seizure savvy. I will loose sleep thinking of poor Picasso possibly seizing alone in a kennel situation. In addition to not understanding the changes the meds will put him through until he is stabilized.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2008 by PhillyPups

[Guest EmilyAnne]

My thoughts and prayers are for Picasso. I only hope that the "rescue founders/owners" have enough compassion for a double bounce with seizures to foster him as they are seizure savvy. I will loose sleep thinking of poor Picasso possibly seizing alone in a kennel situation. In addition to not understanding the changes the meds will put him through until he is stabilized.

My thoughts too. If I had a spot open in my home, I would be looking into adopting Picasso. Unfortunately I don't. Seizure dogs are the sweetest.