Educating myself about how to manage epilepsy has been a life long challenge that has become easier over the years. At the Dallas Road dog park this evening, with Jason, my son, and my grand-dogs, Dexter and Eva, we met a young woman with her dog. Not the only dog and owner for Eva to wrestle and play with, this dog was a service dog. Curious, after an appropriate length of conversation, I asked what kind of service dog. Astro, a large slender black mixed breed dog, was an Epilepsy Service Dog and was on his break from work, part of the care for service dogs - some play time.
Seizures, that epilepsy gifts us with, are frightening and potentially fatal events. Controlled and managed, epilepsy can sometimes be lived with reduced anxiety. So here is a shout out to the Victoria Epilepsy Society, now called Headway, where the young woman I met, learned about seizure dogs at a Plane Pull fundraiser a few years ago. She applied to an organization that provides seizure dogs and was accepted. She then had her home and her life style evaluated to see what kind of dog would suit her, and was flown to Ontario for three weeks to be trained with the dog chosen for her. Her opinion of this support for her was so very positive. She spoke of the dog being a calming influence on her, and that her family and boyfriend are more comfortable about her well-being.
This encounter made me realize my good fortune, with discipline and medication, my epilepsy is relatively calmed. Checking the qualifier’s for a seizure dog, I wouldn’t even qualify! But I do qualify for granddogs! (An attempt to gather pictures of them all throughout the years was too many and varied for this tiny page!)
“Questers of the truth, that’s who dogs are; seekers
after the invisible scent of another’s authentic core.”
~ Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Click on the links below to learn more about service dogs for epilepsy and for other health conditions.
Author's Note: Edited December 28, 2023
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