Our Walley pulled through the ordeal just fine; hats off to his sheer bravery and strength!

The time was around 6 pm. I was at home and so was Elwyn. I was sick with a viral Flu and I stayed home all day resting in bed. I could barely lift my head up and I could not even think of working 8 hours in an office. I was running a fever in the morning and looking at my pathetic condition, Elwyn decided to stay home as well. The day was like any other except that Walley was in his crate unlike any of the other days when were at home. We always play with Walley when we are at home and because I was so sick, it was impossible to spend anytime with him, He was quite down too; he always feels sad when someone is sick at home. He just slept all day. But he was cheerful when we tried talking to him several times a day. Morning turned into noon and then evening came with the worst we had not even dared to fear. It was the least expected thing and even now as I type, my hands tremble with fear and sadness.
Walley had urinated in his crate so Elwyn let him outside so he could clean his crate. A few seconds later,
“ Shilpa, look at Walley, Oh my God!! Look at him! What’s happening to him? Walley! Walley! What’s happening? Walley!”, Elwyn yelled.
I was laying on the couch since afternoon, barely able to think straight, the fever had drained out all of my energy. When I heard Elwyn scream, I sensed panic in his voice, but little did I expect what I was just about to see. I leapt out of the couch, in spite of my terrible body ache and turned to look at Elwyn and Walley. My heart skipped several beats; at least that’s how I felt when I saw Walley. Elwyn was carrying Walley in his arms, crying “Walley! Walley! What’s happening to you?” Elwyn kept asking me to call someone for help. At that time, my mind was frozen. I fetched for the phone and tried to make a phone call. My hands were trembling and I couldn’t think right. How could I? I was seeing Walley twitching severely like he was moments from passing away into another world. I was terrified. Just the thought of what I witnessed that day, makes my heart tremble. It was so frightening!
“Oh my God, he’s dying! Shilpa, he’s dying!, Elwyn was whispering.
Finally my voice was with me and I cried so loudly, not able to grasp what was going on with Walley. It was like my mind knew what he was wrong with him but my heart thought otherwise. For those couple of moments, Elwyn and I thought we had lost Walley forever.
“Oh my God! He’s dying! On no, he is going to die!, I was screaming.
“Shilpa call someone!, Elwyn said to me still holding Walley in his arms. I was tense and not thinking straight. I dialled 911. I told the person on the phone what was going on with Walley but of course, all they could do was connect me to United Way. I was on hold over the phone for only a few seconds when I saw Walley’s jaws get tense and his twitching slowed down and he was suddenly stiff as though he were dead. I put the phone down and went to hold Walley in my arms. Elwyn and I were sitting still thinking Walley was gone. A minute passed by. Walley was not breathing or moving. It was so terrifying. We were convinced we lost him. Just then, Walley jerked a little and then stood up on his four feet and began walking slowly and directionless. He wagged his tail briefly. Elwyn and I were a little relieved. It was then that my brain started working normally and I realized Walleye had a seizure.
We rushed Walley to the Animal Medical Center. Elwyn drove the car in haste while I sat with Walley in the back seat. He was making feeble crying sounds and his eyes would close intermittently. I tried my best to keep him awake as his breathing felt really slow. We finally reached the Emergency Center.
As Elwyn parked the car, I ran into the Emergency Center carrying Walley in my arms. I could barely speak, as I was so frightened. I frantically told the receptionist that Walley just had a seizure. The receptionist asked me to stay with Walley in a waiting room. In a few seconds, a resident came running into the waiting room and took Walley into the ICU. And asked me to wait outside. Elwyn and I waited for about a half hour in the general waiting area. We were scared and impatient. A little while later we were called to a small room where the resident asked us a few questions about Walley. She told us that Walley was doing fine. We couldn’t wait to see him so she brought him to us. Walley was still very disoriented and drowsy as he was in the post-ictal phase. He would sit next to Elwyn for a few minutes and then he would sit next to me for sometime. I was in tears while Elwyn comforted me. The resident told us there was nothing to worry about but she recommended that we transfer Walley to the Neurological ward just for the night so that the specialists could examine him and do a few routine tests. We thought it was good idea as even we were so concerned why a 6-month-old puppy would get a seizure. After spending some time with Walley, we went home. That night was one long night! We could not wait for the doctors to call us in the morning.
At 10:30 am, we got a phone call from the neurologists letting us know that we could take Walley home. Elwyn and I were relieved. We rushed to the hospital to see Walley. The doctors told us that Walley rested well at night. He did not have any more seizures. The neurologist-in-charge said that Walley's neurological examination was normal. So an MRI of the brain would not be necessary. Walley had slight anemia but the Doctor didn’t think that was the cause for his seizure. She said we could only wait and watch him over the next couple of weeks. We were given some deworming medication for Walley to treat the anemia. As we worked on the discharge papers, Walley was brought to us. He was so excited to see us as usual and so were we!!
We took Walley home after stopping at PETCO to buy him a new toy. We wanted to cheer him up.
On following up with Dr. Tufaro (Walley’s regular Vet) a week later, he told us that Walley has Idiopathic Epilepsy- cause of seizure unknown. He said that this could be the first of the many seizures to come or it could be the last one and we may never see Walley have a seizure ever again. Since then Walley has not had any seizures, thank God!!!
Walley is a one brave dog. He endures everything like it’s just a part of life. His strength goes a mile in talking about the amazing animal that he is! We were just so glad to have Walley back home- normal, healthy and happy as ever! The ordeal was over!