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 Things That Go Bump In The Night...

George and Claudia Salinger callme2@prodigy.net

You check the calendar instead of the clock before you go to bed. Its almost three weeks so you know that tonight could be the night. As you lie in bed you're half asleep and half listening for the "bumps in the night".

We were so excited when we finished Nellie, she was our first mastiff and was championed before she was two. We were waiting anxiously for her birthday to have her OFAd so that we could have a litter of puppies. Instead we were presented with the life altering diagnosis of "idiopathic epilepsy".

Nellies first seizure occurred at night. If she didnt sleep with us, she slept in a chair outside of the bedroom door. George awoke in the morning and laughed when he told me how Nellie must have fallen out of her chair because he heard her scrambling to get up. We both chuckled over how she would have to have a new chair. A few days later Nellie had her first seizure in our presence. What a shock. At first we said she must have gotten into something, or she would only have this one seizure and than she would be fine. We assured ourselves of how people have pets with epilepsy and their pets live to a good age ..... well, we soon found out thats only the very lucky ones.

The next day, even before I could get her to the Vet, she started to seize again. In between seizures, I managed to get her loaded in the van and to the Vets. While at the Vets, she started seizing again and had intermittent seizures referred to as "bubble-gum" seizures. This is where they bite at the air. We started Nellie out on Phenobarbital.

The next week we took Nellie to the Referral Clinic where she was examined by specialists. Their diagnosis, "idiopathic epilepsy", which they further explained was, in their opinion, genetic. We went home with our sweet Nellie and thats when our lives became controlled by this insidious affliction.

Epileptic dogs need to be on a tight schedule. They should eat at the same time every day. They need to have the medication at the same time everyday. (Nellie had to have medication three times a day). They need to have blood tests on a regular basis to make sure that the medication is maintained at the correct levels. You become a virtual slave to this enemy named epilepsy. We couldnt go anywhere or make plans we had to be there to take care of Nellie.

In the beginning Nellie, on medication, was averaging a seizure about every 2 to 3 weeks. A lot of Nellies seizures started while she was asleep. First you heard the paddling of the feet, then you heard the chattering of the teeth, than she would start to convulse and foam at the mouth. As the convulsions increased she would stiffen up and loose control of her bladder and her bowels. If we were lucky it would be over in 5 to 10 minutes. But, we werent always that lucky. There was the night Nellie started seizing and it went on and on for a matter of hours. We had to call our daughter (shes a Vet) to administer Valium rectally, when that didnt work she gave her one intravenously. After that we kept liquid Valium on hand and the syringes to administer it. It was also at this time that we added potassium chloride to Nellies regimen of drugs.

When Nellie started seizing in a standing position, she would fall down, convulse, get up and stagger blindly trying to get into corners. Whatever was in her way, chairs, tables went flying. Now you had the added worry of her knocking something down and hurting herself more. This could go on for 15 minutes to an hour.

This is how we lived for months, the seizures kept getting longer and closer together ... she was having seizures at least 2 or 3 times a week and they were lasting for hours. We kept increasing the medication until poor Nellie could hardly walk from the drug and was blind. It was than we had to let go.

Our only support at this time was our family. I was fortunate to be directed to an internet list dedicated to epileptic pets. This is where I found the most support and where I learned more than I ever wanted to know about epilepsy. When Nellie was first diagnosed we turned to the breeder, where one would think you would get support. Not the case. Total denial on the breeders part. Even had her attorney write me threatening legal action if I continued to associate the breeder with the epilepsy.

Epilepsy is in the Mastiff breed, like it or not. We as breeders, by not acknowledging it and by turning our backs on this affliction, are only magnifying the problem. It should be understood, that we never blamed the breeder for the epilepsy, we were just totally disappointed with the lack of concern and total disregard for the health of the breed and for the well being of a mastiff that they were responsible for bringing into this world. As breeders, we should show the same interest and concern for the health and well-being of the puppies that we breed as the Championships that we put on them.

When I see all the concern being given to PRA and the attention that is given to testing in general, I wonder how anyone can fail to acknowledge that epilespy is a problem when we hear about more and more mastiffs that are having seizures. There are more mastiffs being bred today than there was ten years ago.... that increases the possibility of more mastiffs being afflicted with seizures and/or epilesy. If everyone had occasion to witness a seizure perhaps the picture would be a little clearer. There is no test for epilepsy so the role that breeders play in facing the problem is a very important one and should not be ignored.

If you have a mastiff that is having seizures please ask your Veterinarian to conduct tests to rule out any outside influences that might be causing the seizures and contact the MCOA Epilepsy committee - we are here to help and give comfort.