Theresa: "Ahhh, what a relief! No more pain in the neck!"

Last week got off to a rocky start but ended on a very high note. At breakfast time, I called little foster Chihuahua Theresa to the kitchen, but she didn't come, which was highly unusual, so I went looking for her. My heart nearly stopped when I saw her: She was lying on her side but with her head up and her mouth half open, staring into space like a zombie. I approached her, called her name, and reached out to my normally hyperactive little lady, and got no response. It was horrifying. I thought she was dying right in front of my very eyes. I scooped her up and ran to my car, repeating over and over again, "You're going to be fine!" and off we went to the vet.

The vet did blood work and a chest x-ray, but both were negative. After ruling out a "syncopal episode" (loss of consciousness resulting from insufficient blood flow to the brain), the logical explanation remaining was that she had had a seizure. I learned that many dogs have a single seizure and then never have another one again. So I thought, "Well, that's the case here, I'm sure―a fluke. No worries!" But 12 hours later, when I came back from taking my big dogs out to the beach, I could see that it had happened again because Theresa didn't greet us at the door in her usual excited manner. Instead, she looked very subdued, and the other two Chihuahua girls were licking her and hovering over her as if to protect her. My heart sank.

I remembered that back in the mid-90s, my cocker spaniel, Rogan, had had several petit mal seizures, and a holistic veterinarian had figured out that they were being caused by whipworms. We got rid of the whipworms and he never had another seizure again. So the next day, I got a stool sample from Theresa and took it in to the vet to check for every conceivable intestinal parasite, but it was negative. Drat!

I began to do some Internet research (I found this site particularly helpful) and learned that there are an awful lot of conditions and environmental factors that can cause seizures. Epilepsy is only one of many, many possible causes. But how to get to the root of the problem? I recalled learning a few years ago that a misaligned neck could cause seizures and that chiropractic could be very useful in that regard. So I set up an appointment with my local veterinary chiropractor at Animal Chiropractic.

As soon as Dr. Rowan got his hands on little Theresa's neck, his face registered surprise. He said that the joint between her skull and her first vertebra (C-1) was completely frozen and inflexible. Eureka! He adjusted her neck and loosened it up, and, given the fact that the brain stem runs right through that area, we both felt pretty confident that her seizure days were over. There's no way to prove it, except just to wait and see if she remains seizure-free. She's got another chiropractic appointment next week, but so far, so good. I didn't realize it until after the chiropractic adjustment, but between the time when she had the first seizure and her appointment with Dr. Rowan, her behavior had been off and she had even had an unfamiliar look on her face. Now, however, she's back to her old self, frisky and mischievous as ever!

This whole episode got me thinking about all the dogs who have been put on powerful, anti-seizure medication, complete with all their deleterious side effects (especially for the liver), when what they may actually need is a good chiropractic adjustment. I think it would be worth exploring alternatives such as this for any dog having seizures, even one who has been on anti-seizure medication for a long time. Besides, a misaligned vertebra is undoubtedly a royal pain in the neck!