Supporting A Friend In Need

The kerfuffle started about 9:00 a.m. It was a crappy morning outside -- wet and dreary. As per usual, I fed The Happy Dog breakfast and his morning treats. Seeing the wet landscape, I told The Happy Dog we would wait a but before tending to the morning walk.

At first, The Happy Dog seemed to understand this concept. I guess that he, too, could see it was raining cats and ... whatever ... outside.

So I set up the laptop in the dining room and began to delve into the morning emails. Suddenly, I was aware of some flailing feet and low moaning. I walked around the table and, saw, to my horror, The Happy Dog on his side shaking uncontrollably. I yelled at Lynne to get the vet clinic on the phone immediately and rushed to my friend's side.

Many years ago, I worked at a camp where we had kids who were subject to epileptic seizures. I remembered the key to dealing with them was keep them calm and make sure they didn't hurt themselves. So I tried to talk softly to The Happy Dog and petted his back. The seizure continuse. Although they probably only ran for 15-20 seconds, it seemed like minutes. I saw some red liquid shoot out of his mouth. Some foam followed. In all likelihood, he simply bit his tongue. But it was a mess.

In time, The Happy Dog calmed down and looked dazed. He, too, probably wondered what the hell just happened. We got the vet on the phone and the nurse said to get in there right away.

By the time we got there (it's only about 5 minutes away), The Happy Dog appeared to be back to normal. But he had to pee and poop like Secretariat. Even though it was still raining cats and ... well, you know ... the need for a good P & P trumps everything else. THD did his duty and gratefully ran inside the vet clinic.

A nurse came, suggested a room off the lobby with a nice carpet, and gave him some water. Dr. Casey took a look, checked out some vitals and immediately ordered up blood tests. 75 minutes after it had started, The Happy Dog was back home and seems back to normal.

What happened? What caused this aberration? Is this the start of something serious or was this an unusual reaction to the anxiety of not getting out for a walk at the usual time? We may get an answer tomorrow when we get the blood tests back. In the meantime, I now have a brochure as to what to do if a future seizure occurs. And I am suddenly nervous about leaving the house for 90 minutes to have lunch with a (human) friend.

For now, he appears to be fine. It may well have been a one-time only thing, a blip on the health radar. I can relate to that. But I also know that all blips on the health radar run the risk of potential future consequences. We will be watching The Happy Dog a lot closer from now on.

Although we don't think of animals this way often, the incident had to be terrifying for him, too. So, I was happy to be there to calm him down and be at his side in a moment of crisis.

And that's the point. If you saw a friend have a seizure, you would likely rush to help that person. You would comfort that person and his/her family the best you could. You would get them to a doctor or call for an ambulance. And you would not think twice about staying with them as long as you felt necessary.

So it is here. The Happy Dog has been a member of the family for nearly nine years. Frankly, I know he is getting up there in age (he'll be nine in June). There will be a time (hopefully, way down the road) where Lynne and I will likely have to make a difficult decision as to his future wellbeing. But, right up to that moment, he deserves our best level of attention possible.

In other words, we will do for him what we hope someone would do for us if the roles were reversed. Yes, it costs money to go to the vet. And money is tight now. But The Happy Dog has always been loyal to us. Seems to me that (within reason, of course), this is our time to be loyal to him.

That's probably too mushy for some people. For others, it probably sounds ridiculous. But, to animal owners and lovers, it makes sense. The Happy Dog may not be a friend in the same sense as the old pal I am meeting for lunch today. But he is a friend. And I was taught years ago to come to an aid of a friend no matter what kind of help is needed. And that does make sense to me.