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Shorty, March 13-15

When we were first approached to accept Shorty, we were told that he had seizures.  This did not stop us from
making him a part of the family.  We watched and waited and he never had a seizure.  A few months later,
Shorty had his first seizure.  He began turning circles in the floor and shaking.  I immediately called our vet and
explained all the details.  Indeed, Shorty had a seizure.  And, over the course of 7 months, Shorty had a seizure
about every 6 to 8 weeks roughly.  Needless to say, they were few and far between.  

Friday night, Joni was here and noticed him have a seizure.  We scooped him up and loved on him till it was
over.  We thought that was his seizure for the two months.  However, Shorty began to have cluster seizures.  To
our knowledge, he had seven seizures between Friday night and Sunday evening.  (we're not sure what
happened while we were sleeping.  He sleeps on a big pillow with Grace by our bedside at night.)

Monday morning, I contacted Dr. Banet.  He reiterated the fact that there are at least 40 to 50 different causes
for seizures in dogs.  We could do an MRI and other costly tests, but he said they do not give much information
for the cost spent.  We trust his judgment without question!  And, in the discussion of some things that could
cause seizures, we realized that he and Grace both hit their head on a wooden rocking chair in our living room
playing Friday evening.  It is a pretty solid chair and you could tell they both hit hard.  Dr. B feels this was the
cause of the clusters.  And, Sunday afternoon, Shorty also hit his head again trying to jump into the chair.  Not
thirty minutes or so, he had another seizure.  

Dr. B explained this as a hard drive short circuiting.  When you hit it, there are glitches.  Shorty just had a whole
bunch of glitches due to his propensity to seizures.  So, that caused the cluster seizures.

While everything is an educated guess, Dr. B said that Shorty probably received some trauma (before we got
him) and suffers from seizures as a result.  We do believe he was abused based on how long it took him to trust
us, and how he hates stomping feet.  He also had issues with brooms and other long objects.  And, once, my
father put his foot in the air and Shorty growled and grabbed it with his teeth just like he does the broom when I
sweep.  It seems likely that Shorty was abused by objects and feet (possibly kicked).  It has taken every bit of 6
months to get the little turkey to fully trust us and accept us.  

So, Dr. B checked out his heart and dilation for any irregularities.  Everything seemed okay.  So, Shorty has
been put on a mild dose of phenobarbitol.  The dose will be monitored and regulated as needed. However, it will
take about 15 days to get into his blood stream and really take effect.

Shorty Update: 16th

It seems like (right now) the meds are having the opposite effect.  Instead of sleeping, the pup is full of energy.  This morning
he woke up at 6:00 (never does this) and he got going.  He would run and jump on one couch. Alex would say "down" and
then  he would run and hop up on the other couch.  This went back and forth several times!  It was so cute!!!  He'd get up
there and just wag his little tail like...I could do this all day!
Meet our new addition:

Buckwheat was born May 10th at 2:30 p.m.

He was the cutest little thing with the longest legs!  He looked like a baby giraffe!  We watched him closely for about 3 hours,
which we know to be a critical time for movement and nourishment.  It was amazing to watch this little cria gain strength and
confidence despite the wobbly legs and never-ending falls.  However, he kept pushing on, kept fighting to survive.
It was definitely a miracle.  
Summer Update:

In August we added two new pups to the family.  Hank is a Beagle and Maya is some kind of mix between a
Beagle and a Blue Tick Coonhound.  They were both adopted from the animal shelter.  Maya was born in May of
this year.  And, Hank was a little over a year old when we adopted him.  Hank was said to have "behavior
problems."  However, all we see is a very sweet and loving pup!  Maya is cute and she knows it.  She can be seen
strutting her stuff down the nursing home halls every Wednesday with Shorty.
Party Time!

Grace, Molly, Shorty, and Maya decided to have a party with my sucker!!!
Looks like Molly thought it was Karaoke night!    
Man, she was singing her little heart
out in the last one!