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I am sharing Thor’s story today because I don’t really know what else to do. I recently got my GSP puppy Thor and sadly he started to have strange episodes and show signs of some seizure like activity that consisted of head bobbing, whining, twitching, foaming, and teeth chattering. We found ourselves restless, unable to relax, sleep, or pay attention at all. I grew quickly concerned as I watched his behavior I took him to the nearest 24 hour emergency veterinary clinic completely unsure of what was happening. I knew it looked like seizures or some kind of seizure like episode, but it had been going on for hours and I was worried about him making it through the day from there, he was admitted for two nights with a little bit of a fever and a slightly elevated white blood cell count. They suggested that maybe he got into something or maybe he was sick. They ran blood test and everything came back normal so once they got his fever down and him stabilized, I took him back home only to have these episodes start back up again shortly after from there, I learned that the first emergency vet did not have a neurologist so this time I packed him up and went to Eastern Penn Veterinary Hospital a 24 hour emergency vet that also focuses on specialty practices such as neurology. I brought him in and he had to stay a weekend and then they performed a spinal tap, MRI, blood test, other test, and started the observation process these all came back pretty regular besides him not being able to settle down and seeming very anxious along with some irregular movement and delayed reaction from his one eye. They got him stable and sent him home while we waited on the results. Everything came back pretty normal, leaving me, frustrated and without answers so my two likeliest diagnosis were idiopathic epilepsy, or a neurodegenerative condition. I sent out for genetic testing which took 14 days to come back and during this period I started him on medication for seizures. The genetic test came back, clear of any neurodegenerative condition. The medication seems to be working they seem to be less frequent, severe, and for shorter durations. I am doing everything I can to keep these episodes away. We have a check up on the 3rd to make sure his liver enzymes are staying at a normal and healthy level. I am just very overwhelmed going into each visit alone and fearful I just keep trying to do everything I can to make sure my boy has the happiest and healthiest life possible. I can definitely read him very well and usually I can see these episodes starting way before anybody else but there is nothing I can do to help him when he is in this state. I am obviously not going to let money be a deciding factor on getting him the help he needs. I just had to put everything on hold and found myself backed up into a corner.
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Aubrey Holland
Organizer
Bridgeton Township, PA