WILLIE - Special Needs

3 YEAR OLD WILLIE LOOKING FOR A WONDERFUL FOREVER HOME

UPDATE: APRIL 2010
Willie is now in long-term foster care with Evergreen Golden Retriever Rescue in Washington state. If you are interested in Willie, please contact Susan Randall at: susrand@gmail.com.

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A family adopted Willie, a golden with idiopathic seizures, through out placement program in February 2008. Unfortunately, due to their own health concerns now, they do not feel that they are able to give Willie the best care possible. Since they have had Willie, they have done an amazing job of getting his seizures under control. He will always have seizures, but by maintaining his daily schedule outlined below, they are being well managed.

I want to thank them all the time, money, and research they invested in getting him this far. It takes special people to take on a dog with specials needs like Willie. And, we are hoping that we can find another wonderful family to carry on the good work done so far and to provide Willie with a loving forever home that he deserves.

Willie comes with an amazing network of support people, especially his current family, who will provide advice and assistance whenever possible.

If you are interested or know of anyone that would have a special place in their heart for a wonderful dog like Willie, please have them contact: goldenplacement@grcbc.org.

ABOUT WILLIE
When we first had Willie, he weighed around 45lbs, and was almost bald. He now weighs 75 - 80lbs and has a lovely coat of fur.

The first six months living with us, Willie had multiple seizures for which we kept changing the dosage of his medications, trying to regulate the frequency and severity. We did manage to help him have fewer and less severe seizures over the course of many months. Now he rarely has more than one seizure at a time, lasting about half a minute.

Willie's food and medication are an important component in managing his seizures. Willie gets seizure medication everyday, twice a day, 12 hours apart and this has helped to reduce his seizures to 1 every 5-6 weeks and he has gone up to 12 weeks without a seizure.

Willie usually seizes when he is asleep at night, sometime between 4 to 5:30 am. During his seizure he loses his bladder contol, drools, and will howl. While seizing he will not be aware of what is happening and is not in any pain. The seizures will subside on their own - noone needs any special talent or strength to manage or control him.

After a seizure we give him a phenobarbital pill as soon as possible which helps to stop any further seizures at that time. When he comes around after his seizure (post-ictal phase), Willie will pace around for 15-20 minutes. He is also given a heaping tablespoon of ice cream or a handful of kibble to replace his electrolytes.

He is not fussy about what he eats (in fact most dogs with epilepsy are always hungry on account of the drugs they must take.) A persistent "counter-cruiser" one must always take care not to leave any food within reach! We give him frozen green beans for treats. He also has half an apple every day, plus a carrot for treats.

For the most part, Willie is like any other wonderful lovable golden. He is much stronger now, loving his walks and playing with balls and other toys. Willie is better with 2-3 short walks - he'll never be a hiker or jogger. He gets along great with other dogs and people. Willie is the closest thing to a golden retriever lapdog you'll get. If you have to leave him alone for 3 or 4 hours, he will be fine too.

So, if you're looking for a mellow guy to hang out and cuddle with, Willie is your guy.

DAY IN THE LIFE OF WILLIE
We get up at 7:30 and have breakfast, followed by morning meds.

Breakfast consists of 1/2 cup grain free kibble mixed with home made fish and veg (1 cup). Onto this we sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon Chinese herbs, his morning dose of potassium bromide (1.3ml) and his liquid phenobarbital(1.7ml). He also gets 1 Ecliptex tablet for liver support.

At 9:00am he gets his Thyro-tab. He takes 0.6mg morning and night.

Around 9:30am to 10:00am, we usually head off to the dog park for a walk. The walk is not very long - about twenty minutes total. He loves going out, and meeting and greeting other dogs - and people!

When we get home, Willie has treats - usually half an apple or half banana along with a handful of frozen green beans. (Epi dogs are always hungry on account of the meds)

Usually a snooze in the afternoon.

Dinner at 5:45 - 6 pm. Dinner is 1 cup of the same kibble as breakfast, with fish and veg mixture.

Evening meds at 7:45pm - 2ml of liquid phenobarbitol, 1.4ml of potassium bromide, and 1 Ecliptex tablet. The seizure medications are given approx. 12 hours apart.

At 9:00 pm, he gets 1 Thyro-tab tablet.

This is pretty much a daily plan.

Please note: If Willie is not fed and given his seizure medication on a regular schedule, he will have a seizure. This schedule is important in managing them. The current schedule can be gradually shifted if necessary, but the 12 hour schedule must be maintained. By being consistent with his diet and meds, it helps to keep Willie's system balanced and also helps track anything out of the ordinary that may happen.

MEDICATION COSTS
Thyro-tab: approx $13.50/month
Liquid Phenobarbitol: approx $34.00/month
Potassium Bromide: approx $13.00/month

These are the three main drugs Willie must have.

Optional: Ecliptex is approx $19.00/month. This is a supplement (not a drug) to help support his liver.