Toni Noel | Activity | Faithful Friends

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Toni Noel posted an update 5 years, 1 month ago

@cathyrunnels Hello Cathy. I am sorry for your loss of Barron. Are you doing okay? Please tell us about Barron, and share some pictures.
- Cathy replied 5 years, 1 month ago
  Barron was my 3 year old pit bull, he was such a clown. If I had company over, he would sit in front of me and bark when we were trying to talk because he was jealous. He didn’t want anyone to have attention but him. He was such a beautiful boy. A friend of mine owned his sister, and my friend called me and told me to keep an eye on Barron because his dog developed epilepsy and was have cluster seizures. I made an appointment at the vet to have Barron checked out because I needed to know that he was ok. The night before his check up he had his first seizure. It was horrible and so violent. When he came out of it he was blind, so confused and mad! I got him calmed down and walked him around the yard and his sight came back and he was doing ok. The vet diagnosed him with idiopathic epilepsy the next morning, he was put on phenobarbital and he did well for about 3 weeks, then he started having cluster seizures and I couldn’t get them under control. He went into a coma while rushing him to an after hours emergency animal hospital, they wouldn’t treat him without me paying them $1300. So, I brought him home and sat up with him all night just trying to soothe him, he was in a coma, in critical condition so I rushed him to our vet first thing in the morning. He was put on IV’s so he wouldn’t dehydrate and told me to go home and they would call me as soon as he woke up, if he woke up. Well, he did wake up around 2 pm that day, so I rushed back to the vet and they took me into the hospital area and he was awake and eating like he was starving. He didn’t know who I was because he had suffered brain damage from the continuous seizures he had before he went into the coma, his vet assured me that he wasn’t in any pain, but couldn’t tell me if he would ever remember anything about me, or his life. I couldn’t have him put down because there was a chance that he would recover enough to still have good quality of life, so I sat with him at the hospital until they closed for the day. The vet wanted to keep him over night so he could be watched and medicated immediately if he started to seize again. I went home hopeful. My phone rang around 6:30 and it was his vet, Barron had suffered another massive seizure and they sedated him and he just kept going deeper into sedation and he passed away. I was devastated. I went to the animal hospital so I could see him and hold him one last time before he went to be cremated. I got a bill, his collar and a paw print and was sent home. When I got home my dog Sissy, Barrons mother was excited because she could smell him on me. I let he see his collar and sniff his paw print and she knew he was gone. She got so depressed I was afraid I would lose her to. I had to do something to help her, I was really wanting another dog yet, but I saw this little pit bull/boxer puppy and fell in love. He was the last of a litter of four. He was a bit more expensive than I could afford, but I contacted the family that owned him and his parents and arranged to go see him. He was such a sweet little guy! I explained to them that I wasn’t ready for another dog and told them about Barron, they dropped the price $200 for me, so I named him Oscar, and headed home. It was about a 90 minute drive and of course he got car sick and I ended up holding him and a handful of vomit most of the ride home. When I got him home finally I introduced him to Sissy, they both jumped up on the couch, Sis laid down and Oscar climbed up on her back and went to sleep, they bonded the minute they saw each other, and he saved Sissy’s life she cane out of her depression and was getting back to her old self again. It was such an easy introduction and Oscar was so comfortable he never cried like new puppies do when they are taken from their mothers he and sis are inseparable and he has brought joy back into my home. I miss my Barron every day still, it’s been 2 1/2 years since he passed. I can’t help but feel like he guided me to Oscar to comfort Sis and I. I love my Barron, and sis still gets sad when she smells his collar that’s on his urn. But Oscar pulls her out of her sadness. Idiopathic epilepsy is the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through with one of my dogs and it’s so traumatizing, I hate to think of the other pups in Barrons litter because I know that they are either suffering from seizures or have passed away. My friends dog that had Barrons sister was able to get her condition under control for about a year. Then one day he noticed a little blood around a claw on her front paw and she was lethargic so he took her in for a check up. She had developed cancer in all of her internal organs so he had to have her put down. He is still trying to recover. Her name was Angel, I would like to name a star for her also. I have done so much research on idiopathic epilepsy in dogs. They don’t know what causes it for sure. Barron and Angel were two of 13 pups, they were inbred, their mother and father were brother and sister. They should never have been allowed to mate. Their sire had epilepsy and so I feel like they got a double dose of his defective gene, as the rest of their pups had to have too. They were born out of greed because of Sissy’s former owners greed. They let her and her brother have 3 liters of 13 puppies. Someone had taken sissy away from the people, but then she ended up not being able to keep her, a friend of mine knew I had Barron so they brought her to me to see if I could take her other wise she would be taken to the shelter. I couldn’t let that happen so I took her. She and Barron were so happy to be together. He was about a year and a half old when Sis came to live with us. I had her spayed and got her her shots and life was good until the seizures started. Please stress how bad inbreeding can be and have people get their dogs spayed and neutered. I don’t want to hear about anyone having to go through what Barron went through. I hear the word seizure when some one is talking about their pet and it puts me through changes, it definitely caused me to have ptsd. It is such a horrible and violent thing and it is worse for the animal. The medication helps for some longer than others, but it damages the kidneys, liver, and heart over time. It varies from animal to animal. I will post some photos of My Barron, Sissy, and Oscar. They are incredible and I love them with all my heart.
  - Cathy replied 5 years, 1 month ago
    I meant to say I wasn’t really wanting another dog.
  - Toni Noel replied 5 years, 1 month ago
    Cathy, dear, kind, thoughtful Cathy….I cannot thank you enough for your expansive, informative and heartfelt comments. Whether it’s been 2 1/2 years or 20 years, we think of, and miss our dear friends and loves. Having new friends and loves does not replace nor diminish the lives we shared. I/we really appreciate the specific, helpful information you are sharing about idiopathic epilepsy in dogs. One of the meaningful features of our caring community is to share what we learn, and you have done a wonderful job putting us all on notice for this terrible affliction.
    I am truly sorry for Barron and his siblings. What a shame to deliberately inbreed. Sissy and Oscar, like Barron, are fortunate to have you.
    I am going to take this opportunity to remind our community members about Waggle.org – a non-profit that helps with vet bills. Listen to our Paw’d Cast with their founder to learn more (click the microphone icon on the upper right of this page).Please Cathy, keep us updated about Sissy and Oscar, and how you are doing. We have a grief counselor available if you think he can help with your PTSD (click the link on this page). At least you know you gave and did everything you could for Barron’s benefit. You are a wonderful pet parent, Cathy, and I am very happy to meet you. Yes, please share pictures with us. Hugs, Toni

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