My beautiful boy... "Gibson" Les Paul of Mystic Mountain Since this is the last day of November, (K9) Epilepsy Awareness Month, I'm dedicating this Flashback Friday to my beautiful Epi-Star, Gibson. Even with all the ups and downs of life with Canine Epilepsy, I would walk the same journey with him all over again. Thanks to Gibson, I have met so many wonderful and amazing Epi-dogs and their beloved humans from across the globe that I am so proud to call my friends. Some, like my Gibson, have gone on to earn their furangel wings, but shall remain in our hearts forever.  In the above Flashback Friday photo, it was Christmas 2014, and we had the first printed advance copies of my book,  EPIc Dog Tales: Heartfelt Stories About Amazing Dogs Living & Loving Life With Canine Epilepsy  i n our hot little paws!   What a thrill that was to have the actual printed book! EPIc Dog Tales was a true labor of love and I'm so very proud of it. And to be ab...

Flashback Photo of Gibson 2010 November marks Epilepsy Awareness Month and along with my posting FiveSibes #LiveGibStrong Epi-tips, resources, books, and some fabulous Epi-Stars throughout this month, November also sees the end to Daylight Saving Time, a time for clocks to "fall back" in many areas on November 4th at 2 AM EST. So, my first important Epi-tip of the month is if your Epi-dog (dog with Epilepsy) is on specifically timed medications, you will want to adjust his schedule a few days ahead of time, or at least for the first day of the new time change, stagger the dosage times. For example, if your pet typically gets his medications at  7 AM and 7 PM, for the first day of DST, give the AM dosage at the new fall-back time of 6:30 (true time would be 7:30, a half hour later than usual), and give the 7 PM dosage at 6:30 (true time would be 7:30). That way, while their internal clock says it's a bit late, their system can adjust to the "new" t...

With November being National Epilepsy Awareness Month (#NEAM) , on this month's episode of my show "The Sibe Vibe" on Dog Works Radio, I am very excited to be chatting with Dr. Arnold Rugg, Medical Director and Owner of the Kingston Animal Hospital in Kingston, New York.  Gibson receiving laser therapy from Dr. Rugg Dr. Rugg is our lead vet who has cared for my family's pets for over three decades. He also headed the team who diagnosed and cared for my Gibson throughout his journey with Canine Epilepsy.  Gibson with Dr. Rugg I can't say enough about the love Dr. Rugg and his entire team has shown not only Gibson, but all our FiveSibes. To me, they are part of our extended family. Gibson loved going to the office so much, that when he was able to go for walks, he would lead me right to their back door! And one of the staff even painted a portrait of Gibson on their outbuilding! What an honor! The show is an hour long and packed with very import...

With November being Epilepsy Awareness Month, today's Flashback Friday photo is of my beautiful, sweet Epi-dog angel, Gibson, the face and inspiration behind our #FiveSibes #LiveGibStrong K-9 Epilepsy Awareness Campaign. Gibson embraced life, no mater what challenges came his way. His is a story of inspiration and hope for others who love dogs that are living with Canine Epilepsy. May they all #LiveGibStrongForever. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~Winston Churchill   This month I will be sharing and highlighting information on Canine Epilepsy to help others who are on this journey or who have dogs who are having seizures know where to turn and what to do to help their canine companion. Always remember, while it is scary to watch your beloved dog have a seizure,  you are not alone. There is much support and information out there. Not sure? Just drop me a line and I'll be happy to steer you in the right di...

Note: There are also some great digital apps for journaling as well. See previous post about the free RVC Pet Epilepsy Tracker app.   "CIARA"  Many of you know beautiful "Ciara" of The OP Pack, one of the furry faces behind The Chronicle of Woos blog here in Blogville . This sweetie has been having some visits from that dreaded seizure monster, but she's not letting that stop her from enjoying life with her brother Lightning. We hope one day that Ciara will have no more visits from that monster, and admire her "dognacity" at staying strong and looking beautiful. Pop over to their blog for updates on how this darling Epi-dog is doing, and be sure to say "woo" to Ciara from the FiveSibes, too! Stay strong, Ciara! Sending you lots of Husky hugs and love!

"Woo! This app is so easy and very helpful!"   Have you heard? There's a great mobile app for Canine Epilepsy developed by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in the United Kingdom called the RVC Pet Epilepsy Tracker ! And Epi-dogs all over can benefit from it! The first of its kind, the app's contents were designed by the RVC Canine Epilepsy Research team members, Professor Holger Volk, Clinical Director of the RVC’s Small Animal Referral Clinic and Specialist in Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Dr. Rowena Packer, Clinical Investigations Postdoctoral Researcher at RVC. The RVC Pet Epilepsy Tracker was developed in collaboration with the Epilepsy Society , a human charity who had created a successful tracker app for people with Epilepsy. Funding for t he app was provided by several sources: an educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Sparking Impact award , and a donation from the suppor...

Gibson just loves being with his pack family! "SOLO"   To follow Shelley Vogt's beautiful Solo and other Epi-Dogs, be sure to check out the Peach State Snowdogs Club and the Snow Dogs Club of America Facebook pages!