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  1. It’s hard to constantly be preparing for my dog’s death but emotionally I don’t think I could have made this clip after Scout’s passing. This is the most emotional Reel I have made so far. Seizures are not for the faint of heart, even though the victims aren’t given an option. I’m not going to lie, I am bawling as I am writing this. Hello, I’m Amanda and I’m a bernadoodle mom. My dog, Scout, was diagnosed with seizures a few months ago. To see my dog look like he’s being electrocuted while paddling, peeing himself, and slinging foam from his mouth is pure torture. The longer the seizure lasts the scarier it gets. In that moment, I send the girls to their room where they remain silent and I have to check all perimeters to make sure he isn’t falling off the furniture, banging his head again the trim, biting his tongue, or almost falling down the stairs to the foyer. Then when he comes out of the seizure he’s blind, doesn’t know me, considers me a threat, and growls at me all while I just want to hug him and love on him. I give him his space and after some time I check to see if he may know me. If he’s still growling then I routinely check on him until I hear him cry for me. Scout’s not fortunate enough to just randomly have seizures here and there. Scout has what is known as cluster seizures. They take such a toll on his body and brain. Scout has probably lost 20 or so pounds since his seizures were diagnosed and I now have a 78 lb 6 monthish old puppy, mentally, while he is really 4 years old. In July, our family returned home from vacation and he had 4 cluster seizures in less than 24 hours of our arrival home. It was then we learned just how much our animals miss us and how much stress it puts on them when we leave them for long periods of time. If a dog has 4 seizures in less than 48 hours then you are supposed to euthanize them and that’s how many he had in half the time. My heart just wouldn’t allow me to let him go. Through the past month and a half Scout has learned to sniff where to pee. After his most recent cluster episode, sometimes this would take 5-10 minutes to figure out what he was supposed to do. He also had to learn how to hike, not to pounce, not to help himself to the counters, listen when I tell him to come in, and there have been many other obstacles. It was hard to call for a dog that forgot his name. I try not to get frustrated because I know he’s doing the best he can. This dog was once one of the smartest dogs I have ever knew. He’s now mentally an overgrown puppy and there’s no way to reverse the damage that’s been done. One thing that hasn’t changed, he’s as loyal as he ever was. It just sucks that I may have him until his next set of cluster seizures or I may have him for 15+ years. His future relies on his medication he takes twice a day to help his brain stay healthy and function properly. About 2-3 weeks ago I was again discussing with the vet options we had or if we needed to euthanize but when the vet gave me time to make a decision something changed and I randomly started seeing my Scout somewhat act like himself again. He’s not completely like he was but I truly think he’s trying to live like he once did. Once this past week he refused to let me give him his pill and I broke down. I was so scared he was trying to tell me he’s tired and ready for me to let him go (just because I never know what to expect with his health). Gratefully so, the next morning he acted better and willingly took his medicine so I guess he was just being a turd and didn’t want me shoving a pill down his throat that night. Scout still has tremors and begins to have seizures regularly but we are finding ways to distract him to avoid full-blown seizures. It just really sucks that however long I have him here with me, I have to stay in the constant mindset of finding closure, considering we never know when his life may end. It’s crazy to me I was questioning if I could handle being a doodle mom some time back and now I’m already dreading the day he isn’t with our family anymore. It’s one of those things I can’t not think about because the fear won’t allow his health to escape to the back of my mind. If your dog is showing unusual behavior then get them checked out! If I would have known the signs sooner then Scout’s brain and overall health could be a lot better off. If you use pet products that contain a lot of insecticides or you use a lot of insecticides around your home, then please pay attention to your dog’s contact with those chemicals or any components that dog’s aren’t meant to adapt to. If I was more aware and would have known the dangers to these components I would have done things differently a long time ago.

    In the mean time, please pray for my pup and our family’s hearts as we will never know when we have to say good bye. Thank you!
    #Seizures #SeizuresSuck #Cluster #ClusterSeizures #SeizureMeds #Dog #Poodle #BerneseMountainDog #Doodle #Bernadoodle #KnowTheSigns #Insecticide #Prevention #Reel #Awareness #GoodDog #GoodBoy #ScoutTheDoodle #ScoutTheBernadoodle #BeAware #Research #LoveYourDog#DogLover

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