Hello, all. I just lost my lovely little rat terrier, Trixie last night. She's gone to doggie heaven. I've had her 13 years, and even though she was 16, her vet has said repeatedly that she was very healthy for her age.
However, here's the timeline of events the last few days:
Friday evening: Trixie and I came back from out of town. Noticed the carpet was really dirty and wanted to get it clean before "daddy" came home the next day. So I got out my carpet cleaner and shampooed all of the carpets in the house. This isn't the first time I've shampooed them, but I did a very thorough job this time trying to get out the dirt and some urine smell from dog accidents.
Saturday morning: I got up and felt oddly dizzy. Just attributed it to not eating enough, although it lasted several hours even after I ate. But Trixie stayed in bed for almost an hour after I got up. Very unusual for her. She usually gets up and follows me right away.
Saturday approx. 1:00pm: I sit at my computer to do some work. (Important note: I watch my "grand-dog" during the day because he's had seizures for 3 yrs starting with an accident). I hear the unmistakable sounds of a seizure and the flailing and kicking below my chair. I look down expecting it to be my grand-dog, but it's Trixie. The seizure was grand mal and lasted much longer than I'm used to with my son's dog.
I rush her to the emergency vet. They can't find any reason why this happened. All BP and bloodwork looks good. They tell me to take her home and if she has 2 more in 24 hrs to bring her back and they'll start her on meds. They explain that with "geriatric onset" of seizures, we might not find the cause.
During the night she has 3 more grand mal seizures and several smaller ones. She is in a full-blown anxiety mode and spends most of the night panting and running all through the house. I can't get her to calm down and she doesn't want to be held.
Sunday morning: I bring her back to the vet hospital and get her admitted. They start her on phenobarbital and meds to make her more comfortable.
During the day, the vet keeps me updated. She's going from anxiety to very lethargic. Eventually, the vet informs me that they think she may also have suffered a stroke. Trixie's front legs buckle when she tries to stand, and she keeps craning her head to the right. She did eat and drink, though, so I was having hope that she'd come out of it. She's not responding properly to the meds. They keep her overnight for observation and to keep her on/adjust levels of meds.
Monday morning: I go to visit. Got to hold her for about an hour in a private room. Trixie is not responding to things I say that usually get her attention, such as "mouse" (because she love to chase them...she's a rat terrier), and "cookie". She mostly just hangs in my arms panting. And she's doing a weird thing when she breathes; she takes a breath and holds it and tightens up, then finally exhales. Near the end of the visit, she turns her head and lays her chin on my chest facing me. I'm thinking she's looking at me to make sure I'm there. But at the same time, I'm wondering, is this just part of that craning her head to the right thing the vet told me about. She finally, suddenly, falls asleep and I get to hear her sweet little snore that I love.
Again, during the day, I check in to keep informed of Trixie's status. But it looks like she's just not improving. They want to keep her for observation to see if any changes can be made that might make any difference.
Approx 8:00pm I call to speak to the vet. She's busy doing a procedure and calls me back about an hour later. No good news. So I go in to visit and speak to the vet in person.
I get to go into ICU to hold Trixie. She's got her head pressed up against the bars of the kennel and the tech explains that she keeps doing this even though they try moving her back to make her comfortable. I hold her while talking to the tech and the vet about her condition. It's obvious she's not doing better. She's making a very strange whining noise now, too. I can tell that she doesn't recognize me, or if she does, she's too much in distress to show it.
The vet and I talk about options and basically, because I know Trixie better than anyone, I know what needs to be done. I tell the vet, "What I really want is a miracle. I want her to live another 40 years with me". But I know keeping her alive any longer is just selfish. So I'm brought to a private room where she can be in my arms while the euth meds are administered.
Trixie is home now. My son is helping me prepare her final resting place under the small oak out by the chicken pen where she loved to chase mice and rats.
My point of all this is.....
Has anyone else had any experience with dog's having seizures or any other bad reaction to carpets being cleaned?
However, here's the timeline of events the last few days:
Friday evening: Trixie and I came back from out of town. Noticed the carpet was really dirty and wanted to get it clean before "daddy" came home the next day. So I got out my carpet cleaner and shampooed all of the carpets in the house. This isn't the first time I've shampooed them, but I did a very thorough job this time trying to get out the dirt and some urine smell from dog accidents.
Saturday morning: I got up and felt oddly dizzy. Just attributed it to not eating enough, although it lasted several hours even after I ate. But Trixie stayed in bed for almost an hour after I got up. Very unusual for her. She usually gets up and follows me right away.
Saturday approx. 1:00pm: I sit at my computer to do some work. (Important note: I watch my "grand-dog" during the day because he's had seizures for 3 yrs starting with an accident). I hear the unmistakable sounds of a seizure and the flailing and kicking below my chair. I look down expecting it to be my grand-dog, but it's Trixie. The seizure was grand mal and lasted much longer than I'm used to with my son's dog.
I rush her to the emergency vet. They can't find any reason why this happened. All BP and bloodwork looks good. They tell me to take her home and if she has 2 more in 24 hrs to bring her back and they'll start her on meds. They explain that with "geriatric onset" of seizures, we might not find the cause.
During the night she has 3 more grand mal seizures and several smaller ones. She is in a full-blown anxiety mode and spends most of the night panting and running all through the house. I can't get her to calm down and she doesn't want to be held.
Sunday morning: I bring her back to the vet hospital and get her admitted. They start her on phenobarbital and meds to make her more comfortable.
During the day, the vet keeps me updated. She's going from anxiety to very lethargic. Eventually, the vet informs me that they think she may also have suffered a stroke. Trixie's front legs buckle when she tries to stand, and she keeps craning her head to the right. She did eat and drink, though, so I was having hope that she'd come out of it. She's not responding properly to the meds. They keep her overnight for observation and to keep her on/adjust levels of meds.
Monday morning: I go to visit. Got to hold her for about an hour in a private room. Trixie is not responding to things I say that usually get her attention, such as "mouse" (because she love to chase them...she's a rat terrier), and "cookie". She mostly just hangs in my arms panting. And she's doing a weird thing when she breathes; she takes a breath and holds it and tightens up, then finally exhales. Near the end of the visit, she turns her head and lays her chin on my chest facing me. I'm thinking she's looking at me to make sure I'm there. But at the same time, I'm wondering, is this just part of that craning her head to the right thing the vet told me about. She finally, suddenly, falls asleep and I get to hear her sweet little snore that I love.
Again, during the day, I check in to keep informed of Trixie's status. But it looks like she's just not improving. They want to keep her for observation to see if any changes can be made that might make any difference.
Approx 8:00pm I call to speak to the vet. She's busy doing a procedure and calls me back about an hour later. No good news. So I go in to visit and speak to the vet in person.
I get to go into ICU to hold Trixie. She's got her head pressed up against the bars of the kennel and the tech explains that she keeps doing this even though they try moving her back to make her comfortable. I hold her while talking to the tech and the vet about her condition. It's obvious she's not doing better. She's making a very strange whining noise now, too. I can tell that she doesn't recognize me, or if she does, she's too much in distress to show it.
The vet and I talk about options and basically, because I know Trixie better than anyone, I know what needs to be done. I tell the vet, "What I really want is a miracle. I want her to live another 40 years with me". But I know keeping her alive any longer is just selfish. So I'm brought to a private room where she can be in my arms while the euth meds are administered.
Trixie is home now. My son is helping me prepare her final resting place under the small oak out by the chicken pen where she loved to chase mice and rats.
My point of all this is.....
Has anyone else had any experience with dog's having seizures or any other bad reaction to carpets being cleaned?
