Listen to me

I can see this is going to be one of those days where I have to write this entry 16 times because it keeps disappearing. That is OK, I have perseverance. Plus, now I can spell check words like that.

Yesterday was Molly's Shot Day at the vet's. This was shot #3. She had seizures the last 3 visits, so this time we had Dilantin for three days. I can say "we" because getting tablets into Molly takes much creativity, plus I usually end up wearing some of whatever medium of delivery I choose. Peanut butter, bread dough balls, chicken soup broth, Pill Pockets - I wear them proudly. She was given extra predisone in the morning also yesterday, to help her deal with stress.

It was about 16 degrees outside, so we didn't take a slow stroll up the street this time for distraction. We bundled up and went in the car. I packed my pocket full of treats, skipped the harnesses, so the girls just wore collars and leashes. It seemed a kind concession.

Not wanting Molly to have a seizure in the car in the same front bucket seat as Baby, I encouraged her to ride in the back seat. She has never done this before and dogs are more resistant to change than grumpy old men. She hopped right in and sat down. For the ride, which is just a couple of miles, I fed them treats. Molly was calmer in the car than usual, while Baby sat in the front shaking, yawning, panting, and occasionally screeching. Great, now I had to keep a close eye on both of them.

We disembarked in the usual way. That involves Baby getting out first by going over my head in a very ungraceful manner. Molly, of course, waited until I opened her door like a good servant, then she casually jumped down. They were then allowed to smell the pee other dogs had deposited for their entertainment along the grassy area. It was cold, so not too much sniff time was allowed.

Molly and Baby walked in the door right in front of me, tails up, excited to see what was going on inside. There were several people waiting, and I scanned immediately for children. If Molly collapsed, I did not want a child watching that. No children. Good.

The tech at the desk saw us, so I went to sit down. I noticed Mollywas just standing and gazing, so I started to say, "Molly, look at me," to get her attention, when she suddenly began the facial movements of a seizure. Within a second she was on the floor in a grand mal. I called out that Molly was having a seizure, and one vet came running out of the back, grabbed her and took her in the back room for treatment. I sat with Baby and cried. By the time I looked up, the lobby was clear and the techs were quiet.

Baby was not quiet. She was jumpy, nervous, and chattering away. She can resemble a monkey at times. I shushed her, and by that time Molly was peeking at me from an exam room. She had a fairly short seizure and didn't require a shot of Valium. So Baby and I joined her in the exam room to wait. I didn't even know if Molly had her Percorten-V shot for her Addison's yet or not, so we settled in to wait for the vet.

Meanwhile, we could hear people coming into the building. Baby is very gregarious and wanted to join everyone. Molly was busy alternating between resting on the floor and wagging her tail and smiling every time she heard a tech or vet she recognized. She really would perk up at the vet's voice outside our little room.

Baby, however, was not quiet at all. There is a small window in the door between the exam room and the waiting room. It's about 3 feet off the floor. Baby spent quite a bit of time jumping straight up in the air to see out the window. Even I sat there laughing out loud. I can only imagine how it looked from the other side - an empty window - a beagle face - an empty window - beagle ears flopping - an empty window - crash, she missed and bumped the door - an empty window - a beagle bay with a smiling face - she just went up and down and up and down. Molly and I watched her, but I decided not to stop her. It's like trying to hold down a tornado, and I wanted to watch Molly.

Baby has in the past conned me into holding her up to that window so she could look around, hopefully seeing Stacy, their favorite tech, but she has gained some weight along with Molly. I tried once, but Molly was giving me the soulful look, and I can't pick her up like that because of her neck. So Baby did the jack-in-the-box and Molly and I watched.

The rest of the time, Molly and Baby just generally milled around the small room, up and down off my lap and getting petted. They also relieved me of all the rest of the snacks in my pocket. Other than being a little quieter than usual, Molly showed no ill signs of having had a seizure.

Eventually, after about half an hour the vet came to get Molly for her shot. We talked about the seizure, and why Molly gets scared and what can we do to avoid it. She said obviously the Dilantin didn't solve the problem, that I did everything exactly right (I even put some Karo syrup on her gums in case hypoglycemia was an issue) and she would call the neurologist for Plan C.

The vet took Molly and left the exam room door to the back area open on her way out. I jumped up to close the door, but Baby was out like a rocket. I don't know if she was intending to find Molly or not, but Molly had gone to the left and Baby took off to the right. I was right behind her, skidding on the floor. Baby is friendly and wouldn't ever hurt anyone else or another pet, but she is, well, friendly. Most of the doors were closed and I almost had my hand on her collar when she found an open door.

In the room we found a very large Irish Wolfhound, trying to get on his owner's lap. These dogs are HUGE. Baby was so excited, she wanted to play with him. I apologized to the owner, and grabbed Baby's collar. I was dragging her back to our room, which the vet staff watched and giggled, "escapee" comments being made.

Halfway back to our room, she slipped her collar. Full of excitement and joy, she skidded in mid-stride around to go back to see the Wolfhound. Yikes! I made a decent 180 turn and reached for her - but she made it back to the Woflhound. It must have been love at first sight. By this time, even the owner was laughing with us. I apologized again, reached down, and picked up 30 lbs of squirming steel.

The vet staff was now clapping for me. I half expected to see cards held up with numbers from 1-10 on them. I carried the wiggly thing back to our room, set her down, and crashed on the seat. She went back to the jack-in-the-box routine.

Molly was returned by the vet. The vet told me that Molly is an elegant lady. While this certainly pertained partly to Molly's exquisite behavior (beyond the ungraceful seizure), it probably also referred to my Other Dog with the over-active behavior. We again discussed Molly's illness and how to avoid seizures.

After signing over another bank account, we all went outside and the girls managed to find every mud puddle in the parking lot. Once their feet were nice and filthy, I opened my car door on the driver's side and Baby bounced in and left muddy footprints on my seat, then on her seat. Molly waited for me to open the back door for her. She needed help getting in, then sat down quietly like a lady. I swear she crossed her ankles.

We came home without further incident, and they were led into the house. They went to sleep. I gave more thought to Molly's fear of the vet.

Then it hit me. She goes willingly, although she does not like the car. She gets out of the car willingly. She goes in the door ahead of me, head up, tail up, with Baby at her side. THEN she has the seizures.

Addison's Disease means that stress can kill Molly. It can be good stress or bad stress. I think my happy, social dog is just so excited and happy to see the techs and the vet that she is unable to handle it. She has always loved the vet's office, both of them do. We are not approaching this correctly. She needs to be calmed from being happy. She is not terrified.

There may be a third possibility, but Molly isn't afraid to go to the vet's office. She doesn't even tuck her tail when they take her for her shot and she comes back looking like the kid who gets a sucker at the dentist. The techs always tell me that no matter what, she wags her tail at them and licks their face.

I thought I was listening to Molly, but maybe I wasn't.However, the vet tells me that Addison's does not cause seizures.