Our dear sweet Boozle Boo 7/29/01-3/29/07, Rest in Peace my love.

We purchased Boogie in October 2001. We fell head over heels in love with our new baby. Three weeks after getting her our lives changed dramatically.

Boogie was laying on our bed sleeping. She stood up, became totally rigid and started gagging, urinating and defecating. When she came out of it we rushed her to the emergency vet. They ran blood work and said it was possibly a seizure, but could be that she got into something. We took her home and watched her. About 3 hours after we got home, she had another, this time she was paddling uncontrollably, urinating and defecating. This was her first gran mal seizure. Back to the vets we went. They kept her overnight to observe her. She had another gran mal seizure while there, then another after we brought her home the following night. The vets told us that if it was epilepsy and her starting so young, she probably wouldn't make it to her first birthday. We were devastated.

A month went by seizure free and we thought she was through seizing, but we were wrong. She started again and the vets were having a difficult time stopping them. We rushed our sweet girl to UC Davis for more extensive testing. They came back with the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy and with the same prognosis as the emergency vets, she would surely die by a year old. Boogie was put on Phenobarbital to help control the seizures. It did not control her seizures and she was seizing more and more often. We added Potassium Bromide. For a while that seemed to help, but not for long. At about a year and half old she was seizing every 7 to 9 days, 4 seizures over a two day period. We had already switched her over to a raw diet and that seemed to help allot with the addition of acupuncture. She could go about 2 or 3 weeks between seizures, but was having difficulty walking from the meds. At almost 2 years of age we reluctantly added a new human drug called Neurontin. It was a blessing!!! Boogie was now going 30 to 55 days between seizures which slowly increased to almost 4 months between seizures!! We were thrilled with the results this drug had provided for our baby. We had to lower both the Phenobarbital and the Bromide as they made her too weak in the rear and she blew out both cruciate ligaments and had TPLO surgery on both knees. We eventually weaned her completely off of the Potassium Bromide as she was still too weak in the rear. With the combination of the raw diet and the Neurontin and Phenobarbital combo and the elimination of the Potassium Bromide , Boogie had done well. We had gone farther than the vets ever thought we would as Boogs lived to almost 6 years old, a far cry from the vets prognosis of a year..... In 2005, Boogie was also diagnosed with a condition called Mega Esophagus. She was doing good, but occasionally has a hard time getting the food over her tongue so we had added Kibble to her raw to help her negotiate the food better. This, had worked for us.

Sadly, we lost Boogie on March 29, 2007. She passed in my arms on the way to the vet. She had gone into status epileptic. We miss her more than words can say. The hole in our hearts is huge as she had filled us with so much love and joy. We are devastated, but also happy for the time we did have with her. The support during this difficult time was eased by the outpouring of support we received from around the world. Boogs touched the world much more than we had thought. People know her story and are now much more aware of epilepsy. She was an inspiration to many, especially us. She lived life to it's fullest. Rest in peace my precious girl.

Epilepsy is a devastating disease that affects thousands of dogs around the world. This is one of the most dreadful diseases that can affect our beloved companions. Epilepsy is an emotional rollercoaster and extremely depressing as you feel so helpless. There are places you can go to for help and to know your not alone. Please look at the "Epilepsy & Health" page for info on support groups and alternative treatments. Epilepsy doesn't have to be a death sentence.

**Breaking news..... Through DNA testing, it has been proven that Boogie's pedigree is fraudulent. Her pedigree has been revoked by UKC and a new "open" pedigree has been issued because her dam is unknown. We can only assume that her actual dam is a rescue dog that her breeders were fostering at the time of the birth of Boogie's litter.**

Kris & Tony