Full Moon Seizure watch 2

I'm happy to report that Sunny's seizures have subsided substantially although he is still off balance, at least more than I expect is normal for him.

Thank you for your support on the "Moon Concept" although I'm thinking that the full moon issues run far deeper than just a one-to-one correlation with Sunny's seizures.

For example, after my last post I realized that for some strange reason I decided to change Sunny's diet and mix in a little of his older unused Nutro dry food, than even stranger I cooked up some brown rice to feed him with a left-over chicken breast I had. I've never done that, so obviously I need to account for changes I made as well.

Hmmmm...any possibility that my changes or sudden urges to be more frugal could be related to the full moon? Well, we will see, I've decided to create a Google Spreadsheet where I can keep a log of his seizures as well as my behaviors to see if anything starts to stand out over time. I've made the spreadsheet publicly available and you can access it from the link below. Ive also set the spreadsheet up in a way that will allow for others to log their pets seizures too. If you have a pet that has seizures and would like to combine logs, send me an email at alvin@bizam.com and I will setup the permissions for you to edit the document.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pUPzBIrt0kWo5CXoQHygnGQ&hl=en

I look forward to seeing, hearing from, or talking with you soon.

Alvin

Full Moon Seizure watch

This is going to seem like a really strange post to some of you but its an exercise I need to go through.

When Sunny first started having his seizures I found an article that suggested I keep a log of everything he did, ate, etc just prior. One thing seemed fairly consitent. I really hesitated to tell anyone because it seemed far fetched it could have anything to do with his seizures. It seemed that Sunny's monthy onset of seizures always started 2-3 days prior and lasted a couple of days after the full moon, and they seemed to be their worse on the full moon. Well guess what tonight is...and yest, after my last post when I said Sunny has been seizure free, he had a couple yesterday and a couple today as well.

Today's date is 8/14/08 and the site below will show the phase of the moon for today.
http://www.briancasey.org/artifacts/astro/moon.cgi

I think I'll try and keep a public record of his seizures along with the phase of the moon when they come just to see if there is really a pattern.

When I asked the Neurologist about this he did say there is a lot of evidence that the moon affects nature and sited the tides, emergency room activity and increases of child births on the full moon.

Really, I'm slightly embaraced to even put this in writting but perhaps a log such as this will be of use to someone.

On the road

Great news...Sunny is doing really well!!!

He's on some fairly high doses of medicine and pretty slow and wobbly, well a little more than I expect is normal for him anyway. But I've just realized that its been over a week or maybe even two weeks since I've seen him have a seizure. That's worth a great big WOOOHOOOO!!!!

On that high note I'd like to thank you again for all your support, best wishes and delivery of good mojo in all its forms for me and Sunny. I really believe he wouldn't be doing this well without it.

With that in mind, many of you know motorcycle side car Smokey and his driver Alan. Although I don't know all the details I do know Smokey has been having seizures now as well and can really use your good energy. Please send some their way.

ROAD TRIP...

Yes, Sunny seemed to be doing well enough that we were able to take a road trip up north. Sunny loves to ride in the motor home where he can lay down between the seats in a perfect position to get petted, feel the warmth of the engine and be nice and close to me as we head on down the road.


First we headed all the way to Arcata and hung out at my daughters house for a few days where she threw a dog party and Sunny got to enjoy the company of 15 other dogs. It was amazing how well behaved they all were. Even though there was BBQ and treats to be had, they all seemed so happy to play and they didn't even seem to care about the food. Well, except for sunny of course, he decided to keep a close eye on it :) Here are some pictures from the party.









On our way back we went through the Avenue of the Giants where every dog's dream tree lives. Sunny always liked the cool shade and wonderful forest scents, I think it reminds him of our long hikes through Nicene Marks when he was a puppy.





Many of you know how great my daughter is with animals and how well she has trained Woody. Now for the first time ever we've got a live shot of her training technique in action..."Sunny, this is how big boy dogs pee on a Redwood tree" she's a true master trainer. LOL






Then we cut over to the coast which is another favorite for me and Sunny. After a long day of hiking and playing on the beach we found this wonderful place to just sit back and take it all in

Three weeks running...

I can't believe three weeks have blown by since I wrote my last Sunny Daze update here. It's proof... time fly's when you're having fun.

Sunny is doing really well although I think he's become accustom to all that added special attention, as if he didn't get enough before. Of course though, anyone reading this at this point knows how happy I am to oblige him.

You may not believe this but someone actually told me they thought Sunny was spoiled, imagine that, how dare they. I prefer to think of it less as spoiled and more as well loved.

As far as his seizures are concerned he's been having them daily still and although there are multiples they generally last well under 15 seconds. I don't think I'll be encouraging him to go swimming any time soon but we are getting pretty close to trying some hiking again.

Ut oh, He must have heard that thought, here he comes, yep, he's nudging me to take him out. OK, I guess I'll catch up on the previously promised Sunny attributes and Vet care discussions later.

The Sunny good life Cocktail

Here is Sunny's Cocktail for a good life...

Your payers, good vibes, mojo, best wishes, chanting, sacrifices, doggie dates, and kind acts, are working for Sunny. Thank you!!!

Oh, and I wanted to mention Meg Menard who's incredible attention to detail, research and persistence led to Sunny getting what he seems to think is food worth living for, its amazing. Today was the first time in his whole life that he got up in the morning (7:AM) to let me know he was ready for breakfast. Trust me, Sunny is not a morning dog, every morning for the last 3.5 years I've had to bring him treats in bed in order to get him to take his medicine. The turnaround is nothing short of miraculous.

He's had an incredible couple of days. With the exception of a seizure at the dog park Friday afternoon, he has only been having small tremors which seem to be most common after hard play time.

I've been asked quite a bit about Sunny's medications and it appears there are several opinions on what caused his last recovery. I want to be clear about what happened in case someone reads the email I sent and posted earlier and determines that Sunny's recovery was related to the sudden stopping of his medication. I AM 100% SURE THAT STOPPING HIS MEDICATION DIDN'T HAVE AN EFFECT ON HIS RECOVERY. I feel it is important that I address this medication issue because I don't want someone who has a dog in a similar situation to take the desperate and drastic measure of stopping their dog's anti-seizure medications. In fact I've been told by professionals to do so suddenly will likely make things much, much worse. So, I continued to give Sunny the medicines that I know he can't stop suddenly such as his Phenobarbitol, Zonisamide, Keppra, and chose to not give him his KBR which has a half life of 15-days. The KBR is one of the medicines that I understand affected his hind leg mobility but let me assure you he had no strength in any of his legs 7 days ago. I only cut the KBR for a day and a half and as soon as I saw him getting his strength back I started him back up on it. I hope that clarifies the stuff around his medicines.

So I know I mentioned in my last post that I would cover the Sunny attributes this time but I felt it more important to discuss the medicine issue first. Sunny and I are under the careful supervision of some very talented and caring medical professionals at Capitola Veterinary Clinic in Capitola, Santa Cruz Animal Hospital in Santa Cruz, and Animal Care Center in Sonoma and we discuss the medical options for Sunny regularly. I would like to tell you how awesome the doctors helping Sunny are but feel it would be wrong to do anything short of dedicating a specific post to that topic which I will be doing shortly.

On top of the mountain

 

If you like hiking and have a dog then Garland Ranch in Carmel Valley is the place for you. If your dog responds to voice commands it will be ok to go leash-less. I think Carmel, CA. may just be the most dog friendly place on earth.

Anyway, I found this picture of Woody (on the left) and Sunny (on the right) from on top of the highest mountain at the ranch and thought this would by a nice segue into giving you the "how the Sunny story began" post as previously promised.

Well it is fitting for Woody to be in the picture because it all really started with him. You see...Woody is my daughters dog who arrived as a gift from some dude. Because of what I believed about Pitbull's at the time based on all the media attention about dogs mauling and killing people, I tried every possible negotiation tactic I could come up with to convince her to get rid of him. I finally realized I wasn't going to win this one when she said "I can't get rid of him, it's to late, I love him...I'd rather live on the streets in a box with him then get rid of him". what's mostly scary about that is I know she meant it.

So we found a new house where we could all live and what the heck, I always wanted a dog anyway. There is a lot I could say about Woody but the short story is he turned out to be an incredible loyal friend. He is an amazing athlete that would just run for hours non-stop...just pure energy, he love's running with logs, and I mean logs, as well as swimming in the waves. He is also incredibly smart seemingly understanding some 70+ words and commands and he is a great protector of my daughter. Woody has been a great ambassador for his breed changing many peoples attitude once they get to know him.



Anyway the time came when my daughter and Woody were ready to move out we'll you may have guessed it, along with my daughter being gone I missed Woody terribly. Of course having another kid real quick wasn't going to happen but yes...I could find a replacement for Woody, yes a dog just like Woody...A Red Nose Pitbull...pure energy!!!...extremely smart!!!, loyal!!!, loving!!!, yes!, I'll shop for one online!

After weeks of research I found him in Philadelphia, PA. The breeder checked out, they had a good track record and references, have been breading Red Nose Pitts for years and temperament is a huge priority, I found him...his name is Browny. Well that's what his papers said anyway.

So Browny arrived after a horrible 11 hour flight from Philly, through storms, freezing cold and well less then careful handling and care from Delta staff. After all that of course he was going to like me, although believe it or not, I was concerned about that.

So he arrives on a stormy night after 12:pm and I've got a frantic message from the breader, "I hear the storms have screwed his flight up and I'm really worried about Browny, she says. Please call me at any time as soon as he arrives so I know he made it safe. Please call no matter what time it is." Wow, they really loved him, she actually picked the phone up at 3:30 am est. :)

So after weeks of stormy weather and rain the little guy from Philly parted the clouds, it was a Sunny day in March. And that's how he got his name.

We'll as far as the attributes I was looking for...lets see...

* Pure energy: Um, not exactly the way most people would describe him.

* Extremely Smart: Well again, this wouldn't likely be the first thing you'd think of mentioning when talking about Sunny.

* Loving: I actually think clingy or as someone one described as a Velcro dog is a better description

* Loyal: Ok I'd definitely give him this one...hey 1 out of 4, I'll live with that.

Great ambassador for the breed : This is a big absolutely, anyone who knows Sunny knows what a great dog he is.




I think I'll expand a bit on the next post about the before mentioned attributes as they relate to Sunny.

Here is the update on Sunny's condition so far today

He's had several small seizures lasting from 5-15 seconds but has great energy level. We went for a 20 minute walk on the beach in the morning and now at 3:pm he's had enough of me petting this keyboard and wants to go out again, so as promised he's going to enjoy his remaining time with us.

Alvin and Sunny

Welcome to Sunny Daze Blog

Hi Friends,

I've decided to create this blog as a place to keep you informed on how me and Sunny are doing and also as a source for other people who have a beloved pet with chronic seizures from Epilepsy.

First off, I am simply amazed at the support we've got from our friends at the dog park, you people are the best!!! I mean imagine this...You're sitting at home one Saturday morning and your phone rings, you pick it up and it's Bill. "Hi Alvin, it's Bill; Simone, Sadie, and I would like to have a party for Sunny this evening to send him good vibes and mojo", later that evening several people show up at Bill, Simone and Sadie's house "with their dogs" and we all have a great time and everyone is feeling the good vibes and mojo for days. Or you tell a friend that your dog can't walk unassisted and when you come home there is a harness and treats sitting on your door step (Thanks again Meg). Then there is Emily and Molly who over the years house sat with Sunny, showed up with little or no notice to give him meds and love. OMG, I could go on for days about the kind words, support and prayers, the point is...if you don't have dog park people in your life, get them.

Sunny and I spend a lot of our out time at the Aptos Dog Park at the Aptos Polo Grounds. There is a great online community group set up for the dog park (thanks David Silver) with tons of photo's, event updates, and a discussion forum, Here is the link to it: Aptos Dog Park

Stay tuned for my next post where I'll share how the Sunny story began and give you a quick update on how Sunny is doing.

Here is Sunny's progress report for today...

Sunny has had a great few days since I almost put him to rest on Monday. He's up and walking, playing, eating well, and his seizures although daily are very small compared to how they were a few weeks ago. In case you weren't on the Yahoo group or didn't get the email from me that explains what was going on, I've included it below. The joke is that Sunny must have realized that I decided he can have anything he wants in his last days so he doesn't have any reason to check out anytime soon.

>>>>>>>> Email sent on Tuesday June 10, 2008

Dear Friends,

I understand there has been some discussion and concern about me and Sunny, Thank you for thinking of us.

So as you know Sunny has been on quite a roller coaster ride over the last few weeks. Unfortunately he’s spent most of the time at the bottom and it’s been really touch and go several times. After consulting with the doctors and some people I resolved on Sunday to put him to rest so I went out and bought him all his favorite treats and squeaky toys so his last bit of time will be as happy as possible. I figure if he wants to eat a ball now, well… what the “F”. I also pulled back on some of his meds that I know are affecting his mobility.

Well yesterday Sunny got up and started walking again and was even mobile enough that we paid a short visit to the dog park and played some serious ball on the grass. He had a fairly lengthy but moderate seizure before falling asleep last night but it wasn’t anything that I’d consider outrageous (hopefully my judgment on seizure levels and tolerance for them isn’t completely out of whack).

Today Sunny got up and took care of business (you know what I mean) which is a huge step in the right direction. He’s had a couple really small seizures, 3-7 seconds but seems to be doing pretty good overall.

Sunny is far from out of the woods to say the least…but I don’t plan on letting him get away with swallowing any balls today :)).

At this point my plan is for Sunny to live everyday as if it’s his last, the treats will keep flowing, he will see you at the dog park or at the beach when he can make it and we’ll just take each moment as it comes.

Thanks again for all your support, good wishes, and prayers.

Alvin and Sunny.

Alvin Cordeiro