T his book review is in perfect time for Purple Day® for (K9) Epilepsy! A Mission For Molly, written by Julie Ann Nettifee, RVT, MS, VTS (Neurology) and illustrated by Julie MacMonagle, is based on the real life of Epi-dog (dog with epilepsy) of "Molly," the beautiful English Setter, and newly retired U.S. veteran Willard Moore, who was searching for, and found her in a shelter.  As Willard tells me, when their eyes met, they knew they were meant for each other. The question of "Who rescued Who?" truly fits this duo after Willard adopted her and brought her back home where his wife was waiting and they began their happy life together.  Molly bonded pretty quickly with Willard. Then one day, on a "breezy Carolina afternoon," as the story unfolds, Molly had her first seizure, and shortly after was diagnosed by their veterinarian with epilepsy.    Willard did not know if this was why Molly was left at the shelter, but what he did know...he would never retu...

  # Flashback ~ Gibson & My Epi-Dog Article in Ruff Drafts ~ 2013 The year was 2013...four years after my beloved heart dog, Gibson, was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy and came to be known as an "Epi-dog" - a dog with epilepsy. We were in the midst of becoming ambassadors for Epi-dogs, sharing Gibson's journey and treatments and his absolute zest for live and love of his pack family (and Harley!) when my article "Epi-Dogs: Dogs Living Full Lives With Canine Epilepsy" was published in Ruff Drafts magazine. One year earlier in 2012, I became an official Purple Day® for Epilepsy Ambassador, speaking and writing about K9 Epilepsy and how these dogs do NOT need to euthanized upon diagnosis, and they can—and DO—live happy lives, just the same as non-Epis. It may take time and some trial-and-error with medications, treatments, diets, and environmental changes, and sometimes everything you try may not work, but management is key and these amazing dogs still lo...

Big News! Remember the call-out for the need of a male Siberian Husky for a sleep study for dogs with epilepsy I shared last July? Well, the results are in!  "An Exploratory Study on the Relationship between Idiopathic Epilepsy and Sleep in Dogs" led by Dr. Alejandro Mondino, Dr. Karen Muñana, and Julie Nettifee, RVT, MS, VTS from The Companion Animal Epilepsy Research Lab at North Carolina State University-College of Veterinary Medicine has now been published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine . The study consisted of 64 dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (Epi-dogs) and 64 non-epis.   This study was NOT just for Siberian Huskies. It included a wide range of dogs as epilepsy can happen to many breeds and mixed breeds across the globe. at According to the Study, " The breed distribution for both groups included 17 mixed breed dogs, 15 herding dogs, 11 working dogs, 10 sporting dogs, 4 toy dogs, 3 hound dogs, 2 non-sporting dogs, and 2 terrier dogs. In the epi...