Ok, dishes are done and I have a glass of wine next to me.  Now I can write.  Ugh, still have to scoop cat crap and rig a uniform for tomorrow.  I haven’t worn khakis in like a month and a half, I hope they still fit…

On an unrelated note, I actually went jogging for the first time in like 3 years.  I have a feeling I’m going to regret it in the morning, but I had some nervous energy to burn and I didn’t feel like doing another tabbata or kettlebell workout.  Not going to lie though, those tabbata workouts are legit.  Anyway, Ghost needed some mommy time, so I figured I’d go do a little jog/walk with her around the park by our house.  She makes a really good running partner

Now to Shadow.  It’s been a rough few days, having a seizure a day since Saturday and then 2 today.  Is it sad that I’m thrilled we’ve now gone like 6 hours without one?  I have to say, there’s nothing more agonizing than watching your puppy seize while begging her to come out of it, scared to death that this is “the one”.  I contacted Dr. Clarke yesterday to let him know about the seizure activity since switching to the 12 hour Keppra, he suggested giving it a few more days and then going back to the 8 hour if she didn’t improve.  He was also very supportive of my seeking out some alternative therapies to supplement what she’s already getting from the holistic vet at Bayside.  I went ahead and made the appointment, and was really pleased when daycare reported they hadn’t seen anything while she was there.  Needless to say, that happiness evaporated when she had a particularly violent (though thankfully relatively short) seizure shortly after getting home yesterday.  It’s so damn frustrating and painful, I just want to wave a magic wand and make them go away for her.  Anyone tell me where Ollivander’s is so I can go do that?  The real scare was this morning after she and Ghost had romped in the yard a bit and she went into one right at the edge of the pool.  If I hadn’t been there to catch her, she’d have fallen in.  I stood there and supported her, and was able to gently guide her away from the edge before she laid down.  At least it was a short one.

So, I took her to see Dr. Bray at Bayside this morning, and we discussed some serious alternative therapies.  I was thrilled that she’d been doing research before we came in, and she already had a game plan in place.  She also decided to try some acupuncture, which got interesting quickly.  Damn dog ate, yes ATE, one of the needles before I could fish it out of her mouth.  Bit me hard enough to leave tooth marks in the process too.  So now we’re on poop patrol and hoping the stupid thing passes, I don’t know how well she’d tolerate exploratory surgery to retrieve it at this point.  We stuffed her full of cookies at the office and then I bought her a bagel on the way back to work, which she loved.  Of course all that grain is probably going to give her the shits like none other, she’s already been farting up a storm.  As long as the needle comes out, I’ll deal with some puppy diarrhea.

So anyway, now for the supplements.  She has started on Tea Pills and Fish Oil, and Dr. Bray ordered a supplement called “Peanut’s Hydrocephalus Powder”, which was formulated by Dr. Clemmens of the University of FL.  He’s apparently had some pretty good success with this and another supplement called Epimedium Powder over the last several years.  If it works and my vet recommends it, I’m all for it.  I also have a list of foods to toss in with her kibble that are supposed to help.  So we’re going to do weekly acupuncture sessions (she may get muzzled next time, I’m not going to pick through dog shit every week looking for needles) and hit her hard with the supplements, and if the 8 hour Keppra isn’t doing the trick like it did the first week we’re going to add in zonisamide.  I want this to work, I want her to be able to be a normal-ish puppy that I’m not constantly worried about falling into the pool during a seizure.

Shadow is not impressed…