We had a great week with Shadow, no evidence of seizures and just acting like a normal puppy.  I started to notice a bit of a regression by the end of the week on the potty training though.  I didn’t think too much of it, there were extenuating circumstances around each of the accidents.  We went to the neurologist yesterday and he was really pleased with how she was doing since starting the meds, and even said he is cautiously optimistic for her.  She has been playing with Ghost, went on a couple of short walks, harassing the cats, and generally acting almost like a Husky puppy should.  She’s even learning how to counter surf, so we’re in trouble there.

Then I decided to take the dogs on a walk this morning.  I was watching the temperature and knew it was borderline, but I decided to go anyway.  We got most of the way done with the circuit of the neighborhood when she had a small seizure.  It was short, I don’t think it involved the entire body, but it was a real downer to watch.  I suspect it may have been the heat, or she may need an adjustment on the meds.  Whatever it is, we have it logged and we will be looking for any trends.  I’d love her to be completely seizure free, but I don’t think that’s very realistic.

After the negativity of my last post, I wanted to give a shout out to our vets.  Dr. Clark at Veterinary Neurology of the Chesapeake has been great, and I love that he’s not just blowing sunshine up my ass that everything is going to be hunky dory.  Dr. Buchanan at Bayside Animal Medical Clinic is also phenomenal, and has gone way above and beyond.  Finally, Arnold Pet Station, where Shadow goes to daycare, is bending over backwards to help us once fall classes start and I’m teaching all day.

And finally, a friend send me this yesterday:

“Being the parent of a special-needs pet means living your life constantly poised on the edge of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you become a fierce defender of the ways in which your little one is perfectly ordinary — all the things he or she can do that are just like what everybody else does. And yet, you never lose sight of how absolutely extraordinary that very ordinariness is, how difficult, remarkable and rewarding that fight to be ‘just like everybody else’ has been.”  -Gwen Cooper