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| Name: |
Calvin
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Age: |
Three years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Breed: |
German Shepherd
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| Home: |
Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Say
hello to Calvin, our German Shepherd. We think he looks quite
handsome, pictured last Christmas, in his holiday best
"formal" bow tie. He is very special to us and to everyone
he meets. We got him from a breeder when he was four months old. He came
running out of the breeder's house and started rolling in the grass
with us. We fell in love with him and we're pretty sure it was
mutual.
The ride home was a bit shaky. He was scared, but after settling in
the first few hours, he realized that we were ok. And he started to
show his personality. Which is how he named himself. He is named
after the cartoon character from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.
Calvin, the cartoon character, is into playful mischief, creates his
own fun and always has a perfectly good explanation for why he did -
(fill in the blank). Our Calvin is funny, quirky, creative, thinks of
his own games and probably does have an explanation for the times he
has found all matter in the garbage very interesting to go through
and leave all over the kitchen, dining room and living room.
The first time he figured out that he could throw his ball down the
stairs, watch it bounce, and then watch it land... he headed right
down those stairs for the grand finale... get the ball!!!! Wonder of
wonders, he has discovered that his game works inside and outside. He
loves playing with his ball so much that we have a secret code word
for it (bud-a-lud-lud). (Hope Calvin doesn't read this!!) He will
happily go to the park at a moment's notice. He gets excited and does
the "Calvin Circle Dance" every time we get the leash out
for a walk. Calvin runs errands with his dad, loves the French fries
from the local hamburger joint, (where the owner puts in extra fries
when she sees him in the front seat), thinks the hardware store is
swell and loves when dad runs in to the grocery store after he's been
to the meat market...leaving "our boy"alone in the car with
U.S. Grade A steaks. That was the day that the Apres-dinner
chops-licking was fast and furious because Calvin had managed to
savor and devour both filet mignon steaks in record time.
Calvin is a gentle soul. After about a year together, we awoke one
Saturday morning at 7:00am to see and hear him having his first
epileptic seizure. Through all of the seizures (about 20 in the past
year and a half) and all of the treatments...going to strange doctors
offices, having his head shaved for an EKG, staying overnight, more
blood tests than you or I would hope to have in a lifetime,
experimenting with drugs, dosages, and food he has been scared but
trusting, brave and loving. He now sits and puts his head up when he
hears the pill bottle coming down from the shelf. He knows, and obeys
without hesitation.
And he doesn't let his condition or its inconveniences stop him. He
still plays with us and all of his friends from his dog-walking
group, especially his beloved girlfriend, Hannah. And at night, after
his medication, he starts to get drowsy but tries to fight sleep so
that he can play and be with us.
When my husband works in theatre, he and his pal Calvin are together
most days and I get to come home to him in the evening. He keeps both
of us company. We love him to pieces and don't know what we would do
without him. Nor can we ever remember our life before he came along.
Shepherds and Collies are two of the most common amongst the breeds
to "inherit" epilepsy. Our vet (who is the head of
neurological vet medicine at the University of Illinois) has been
practicing for 25 years and believes that epilepsy is caused
primarily by bad breeding and inbreeding. A good vet will test a dog
who has had his/her first seizure. There are a series of blood tests
that "rule out" possible causes in order to find the cause.
For instance, we were hoping that it was the antihistamine that we
gave him that triggered his first seizure, but in fact it was not. In
most cases, all tests prove negative. Vets can't find a reason for
the epileptic seizures, which is why they call it
"idiopathic" epilepsy... If people want to contact me to
ask about epilepsy and what we have gone through, please email me at
[email protected]. I have talked
to several owners whose
dogs have seizured. I know that it is a comfort to talk to someone
and only wish that I had someone with "more experience" in
the seizure category when Calvin was going through all of his initial
testing and such.
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