Welcoming in our 5th Annual #LiveGibStrong #NEAM Epi-Star Features With "Bear" of Epilepsy Education & Support!
by Dorothy Wills-Raftery
“When I was 17, I was playing the piano while I was waiting for my boyfriend to come and pick me up to go on a date. I heard his truck pull up and I went to the door and opened it. My boyfriend walked up to the door and he was holding this cute white poodle and he said, "I brought you a present,” recalls Heidi. “She was so cute, but I didn't know if my mom was going to let me keep her, thankfully she did.”
Heidi named her poodle, “Bear.” Heidi fondly remembers how, “Bear followed me everywhere. She slept with me and when I played the piano she would sit by the piano stool and listen to me play. When I had seizures she was always there.”
“We took her to the vet and found out she had Epilepsy. Now there were two of us in the family who had Epilepsy, me and my dog.”
~Heidi Shafer, Epilepsy Education and Support on Facebook
Soon after, Bear, too, had a seizure. “I heard this banging in the kitchen. I ran into the kitchen and on the floor was Bear, having a seizure,” recalls Heidi. “The poor thing, I couldn't believe it. We took her to the vet and found out she had Epilepsy. Now there were two of us in the family who had Epilepsy, me and my dog.”
Heidi
says their vet prescribed anti-seizure medication for Bear, and on it, “She did
much better,” notes Heidi. “I was always there for her during her seizures and
when I had a seizure she was always there for me.”
And thank goodness Bear was. “One time, I took her for a walk in the woods
across the street from our house. We were walking down the path and the next
thing I remember was I was in bed with Bear and my mother was looking over me.
I couldn't figure out how I got from the woods to the house. My mother told me
that she heard barking at the door and scratching. She went to open the door
and Bear was on the front porch barking like crazy and scratching at the screen
door. Bear kept trying to get my mother to follow her. My mother then followed
Bear and Bear led her into the woods where I was laying on the ground having a
seizure. After the seizure ended I was able to get up and my mother held on to
me and guided me home. (I don't remember to this day walking back home with
her). Thankfully Bear took care of the situation. Bear got me through some hard
times. After having a seizure it was a comfort having her lay in bed with me
until the headache was gone and I slept it off. She would not leave until I
totally recovered.”
“Animals can sense when things are going to happen and since Bear had epilepsy just like I do, I believe she could sense it even more. Animals are a blessing, and I was blessed with Bear.”
~Heidi Shafer, Epilepsy Education and Support on Facebook
What is Canine Epilepsy?
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When Heidi married, “Bear came with me,” she says. “Everywhere my husband and I went, Bear came with us. She always managed to squeeze herself into pictures, especially when my first child was born (she was jealous and wanted all of my attention)!”
Today, there are specially trained seizure alert dogs to assist people with epilepsy. But for some, like Bear, there is a natural instinct that kicks in. “When I was pregnant and would start to have a seizure, Bear would bark and lay on me until my husband came,” states Heidi.
Epi-dog Bear became not just a beloved family member and constant companion to Heidi, and then with own family, but even after she was diagnosed with epilepsy, her devotion to Heidi and her natural instincts to stay with Heidi when she, too, would have a seizure is a testimony to the absolute intelligence and amazement of dogs.
“I ended up having two children, and they were very lucky to have Bear as a dog. She lived a long life and passed away from old age. My children were young when she died. But they still remember her to this day.”
Caregivers of dogs with epilepsy are amazing folks. It's so important to remember to care for yourselves, as well as your Epi-dog! Please be sure to watch my special slideshow "Caring for the Epi-Dog and Caregiver: The Importance of Self-Care"
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Other Stories in the Epi-Star Series:
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