Thursday 12 June 2014

How you doing Brownie?


How you doing Brownie?
I had not seen the Scaly-Naped pigeons in my back garden since I cut down the MacArthur Palm trees last year.
This morning however, two of them came by to perch on the palm tree nearest the patio, to pay Brownie a visit.
Animals are so instinctive.....they knew that my boy was not 100%.
I think they missed him chasing them this morning, so they came by to check in on him.

A couple of months ago, Mr. BrownBerts had started exhibiting a strange squirmy rolling around on his back ritual which made me laugh at first.  I had made sure that he was flea-less and tick-less and that his skin was not dry.  I had also mentioned it to the vet as well.

As I searched the internet to figure out what was going on with my boy, I came across several YouTube videos with dogs doing the exact thing.
After careful reading and research, I realised that he was indeed having some kind of seizure.
My boy Brownie was experiencing a kind of seizure which looked more like him rolling on the floor trying to scratch his back.
There he would be, lying down quite comfortably, when all of a sudden, up he jumps as if stung by a bee and starts a wild rolling around on his back.
I didn't relate his behaviour to a seizure in the beginning because the seizures my dogs had had over the years were quite different.

He was his usual high-spirited self in all other areas....still eating like a horse....chasing Brazen & company, checking for critters in the garden etc.
Then earlier this week, he started having an episode every 10 minutes or so.  I became quite concerned.

With Monday being Whitsuntide Bank Holiday, the vet office was closed. Tuesday we headed down to the office.
I was told that the episodes could be as a result of high excitability, stress, poison in the system or a reaction to a strong chemical cleaner, etc.
He was placed on Phenobarbital (30mg) for 10 days.
After the very first pill, the seizures reduced to only one per day, and now today he has not had a single seizure.


Early yesterday morning while still trying to find the bok choy munchers, I saw one of the dreaded cane toads in the garden bed.
I placed a bucket over the frog and called one of my friends, Paul to help me relocate it from the property.
It was afterwards that I remembered that Brownie had been digging frantically in a corner of the garden bed trying to get at something that was hiding there. 
I put two and two together, and now I am certain, that he was sprayed by the frog with those awful poisonous toxins.

Don't worry he is getting the best care ever.
After a small portion of my homemade soursop icecream as a treat, he is resting peacefully under my desk as I type this, so his recovery is well on the way.

6 comments:

  1. Please give Mr Brown a behind the ear scratch from me and Missy. Hope he's all OK now. Those seizures do sound different to the type Missy had as well. Phenobarbitol keeps hers under control. I hate cane toads. I'm not sure if the ones you get are the same as we have here but ours will kill a small dog.

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    1. Ear scratch has been delivered and enjoyed immensely....he is doing well.
      The cane toads here are one of the main culprits of dog deaths if not caught in time. Whenever I sight them on the property they are removed.

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  2. I have heard of dogs suffering from cane toad poisons, gosh they are dreadful creatures. I didnt know you had them down there. Are they after world domination? Give poor Brownie a cuddle from me, I am so glad that you figured out what was wrong.

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    1. Cuddle delivered and enjoyed.....and he would not settle back down until after several MORE cuddles.
      The cane toads here are quite poisonous...the toxins they excrete from their backs can be fatal.
      You may be right.....world domination may be their plan...smile.

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  3. As so often happens with your posts I had to go and investigate. This time it was to spend time renewing my acquaintance with cane toads. I'd heard of them in Australia (where they are native) and they are rather unpleasant creatures (if you happen to get involved with one). I do hope Brownie recovers quickly and fully.

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    1. They're quite toxic and over the years several dogs have lost their lives when playing with these frogs. Sometimes the toxins from their backs just affect the dogs' eyes, but most of the time if the dog has the frog in its mouth it can be fatal if not taken care of in a timely manner.

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