Our Cattle Dog’s Experience With Idiopathic Epilepsy

In December 2020, our blue heeler Scout had her first grand mal seizure.

It caught me completely off guard on an otherwise normal morning. I was home alone with no idea what was happening — I truly thought she might be dying. I’m still not sure how I made it out to the car with her or drove us safely to the vet.

Thanks to a great team of doctors, we came out of that initial episode relatively unscathed: shaken but equipped with knowledge. When Scout had her second seizure eleven months later in November 2021, it was so much easier to handle.

Then she had another episode the following February, and again in April… and in May. That makes five total, each seizure closer than the last, all about the same length, and still no discernible trigger. It’s been an emotional, stressful, and sometimes bitter journey.

But we’re moving forward together. Here’s a deep dive into our personal experience with seizures in dogs.