Berylendan’s Archimedes of Sonoma was born on 29th June 1994. We were fortunate enough to be able to purchase him from Mrs Harbison. On his first outing to a Championship Show, under Dee Harper, he won Minor Puppy Dog thereby qualifying to go to Crufts. During his showing career he gained two Reserve Challenge Certificates, we were obviously very proud of him. We retired him from showing after Crufts in 1999. We did this because he seemed not to enjoy showing as he used to, and we feel it is unfair to show a dog that doesn’t particularly enjoy it anymore.
In January 2000 we were woken very early one morning by, what we thought at
the time was Archie 'snorking'. The only problem was it didn’t quite
sound the same and he was frothing at the mouth. We spoke to our vets first
thing that morning and it was thought that he had probably dried his soft
pallet, so from that day onwards Archie always had a very weak cup of tea
to go to bed with.
Everything seemed fine until about six weeks later when he had another 'funny turn'. Due to the time between these episodes it wasn’t thought to by anything significant. We experienced these 'funny turns' about every six weeks.
In August we were again woken very early in the morning, Archie was having a ‘Grand Mal’ seizure. That morning he went on to have a further 6 seizures between 6am and 8.30 am. He was admitted to the vets and was put on a drip to rehydrate him, plus he was given Diazepam to sedate him. He was discharged later that day and we had an appointment with Mrs Claire Rusbridge at Stone Lion the next morning. He was diagnosed as having 'Idiopathic Epilepsy'.
His treatment started immediately with Phenobarbital. We weren’t able to trace any epilepsy in his pedigree. We also had his litter sister who never showed any signs. Archie’s condition seemed to be under control for about 8 weeks until he had a Peti Mal seizure. He seemed to have these about every two weeks until November, when he had another “cluster” of 4 Grand Mal seizures. His Phenobarbital dosage was increased but within two weeks Archie’s abdomen became distended and was very painful. He then had another cluster of 4 seizures.
The vets immediately admitted him, put him on a drip and gave him diazepam. He had a further 4 seizures whilst with the vet. His blood test showed he had an enlarged spleen, which was a side affect of the higher dose of Phenobarbital. His dosage was lowered and he was also give Sulphur of Bromide.
Things settled for about another 6 weeks when he had another 'cluster' of Grand Mal seizures. We were given diazepam suppositories to administer at home if he had more than two seizures consecutively. Archie seemed to have “clusters” about every 6 weeks. The worse thing was they were slowly increasing in numbers.
In the middle of May of 2001, after trimming his coat, we happened to notice
that Archie had, what can only be described as, a blood rash all over his
back. We also noticed that whenever we had Archie on our laps there were traces
of blood in his saliva. The vet knew immediately what was wrong. Archie had
developed 'IMT' (Immune Mediated Thrombocytopaenia).
Which was believed to have been a side effect of his medication. This condition
was treatable with corticosteroids, as long as there was no underlying disease
or organ failure. Archie was given steroid injections, but it was very apparent
that he was a very, very sick boy. Within 2 days Archie had sadly passed away,
very peacefully with us both with him.
Nobody will ever replace Archie, he was a very special boy and we love him,
and still miss him dearly.
We do not want to apportion blame. We cannot be the only people who show and
breed Shih Tzu who have had this condition. We are more than pleased to talk
to anybody who has, or had, any experience of epilepsy. This is an awful condition.
Archie was six years old when he was diagnosed. It isn’t a condition
that will always become apparent at a young age. In fact, 6 is a typical age
for Idiopathic Epilepsy to first appear!
There is a wonderful organisation called ‘Canine Epilepsy Support Group’.
The contact for these very caring people is Mrs A Morley, 21 Sea Lane, East
Preston, Littlehampton BN16 1NH telephone number 01903 784263. They aren’t
able to cure your dog, but they will try to give you as much support at possible.
Having a dog, or any animal, with Idiopathic Epilepsy is a very traumatic
experience and sometimes just having someone you can talk to can make you
feel much less alone.
Also see Canine Epilepsy Resource Center
© Sonoma Shih Tzu