sweet lulu!

ahhhhck. woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m. to overwhelming odor of EXTREMELY PUNGENT dog urine. as it turns out, it was not a fresh nightmare involving me trapped in vat of dog urine, but was instead the reality of a giant puddle of it soaking into ... yes, the pillow and bedclothes just inches from my face. "oh, lulu," i thought of my beagle [still ON THE BED], "you little shit. just when you've been doing so well making it all night without emptying your bladder ..." [although in the past she has generally done this in a far corner of the upstairs, never ON BED, much less the pillow.]

just when i was getting ready to drag her roughly downstairs and outside, i noticed she was heaving. like she was going to puke. on the bed. usually when a dog starts doing the puke motions, i grab said dog and we rush (likewise) outside, but my first thought was, "well, the bed's already covered in pee, why freak her out?"

ah, good instinct there. my poor baby's "puking" was actually mass volumes of clear saliva, and i realized that she was suddenly in the middle of a scary dog seizure, right there on the bed.

beagles, i learned earlier this fall when she had her first big seizure [where we rushed to the vet and i was sobbing and holding her while driving because i thought she was DYING], are very prone to epilepsy. it usually sets in between 1-3 years of age. lulu is 2.

dogs usually lose bladder/bowel (i guess i got lucky with the latter there this morning) control as the seizure starts, and the giant flood of saliva comes before and during the seizure itself. often dogs are blind during seizures and this can last for awhile afterwards (although this doesn't seem to be the case with my lulu).

so, this morning at 5:30 on the foot of the bed, i just petted her and loved her and kissed her warm head and told her over and over she was a "good girl" while she convulsed, her limbs frighteningly rigid, her eyes bugged out, and with the saliva continuing to pour out from her mouth. she slowly stopped shaking, and finally her little body started relaxing. my poor girl.

i took both dogs outside and gave them a biscuit, then gave lulu one of the doggie valium the vet gave me after her previous seizure. when they came inside, both dogs dozed in the crate, and now they're on the sofa [yes, that's the kind of pet owner i am] compulsively licking themselves, one of their favorite activities. [i'm wondering if she didn't spit out the valium or something; shouldn't she be SOUND ASLEEP instead of chewing her own butt?]

[big sigh.] lulu's back to normal and will cuddle up with booker here soon. the bedclothes have finished their wash cycle. i have grading. and then traffic court later this afternoon [ahem.] just another day in the life ...

p.s. incidentally, the beagle in the pic is not lulu, but looks STARTLINGLY similar. i need to get my own photos on the computer, i know ... and aside from the seizures, the slow potty training, her skittishness around strangers, etc., she is such a snuggly, wonderful dog -- sweet as a dog can be. she snores like an old man. she actually hugs me back.