Dyna the amazing EMS dog...compassionate canines

@spalladino (17891)
United States
May 23, 2010 2:21am CST
Some of you are familiar with my big dog Dyna, a Florida Cur who contracted parvo in between vaccinations several months ago. So many of you were supportive of both Dyna and me as we battled that terrible illness, which we thankfully beat. Some of you are also familiar with my other dog, Sugar, a terrior mix who has epilepsy. As we have been dealing with Sugar's condition I have come to realize and appreciate that Dyna is amazing...compassionate and loving. Sugar takes medication for her seizures but she still has them from time to time. We can usually tell when Sugar isn't feeling well...she doesn't get up with us in the morning to go potty and have a snack or she lays around acting sick. This past Thursday was one of those days. Sugar stayed in bed that morning so instead of going to the shop with my husband and coming home for lunch to give her her medication, I stayed home. I had checked on Sugar...she was laying on our bed...so Dyna and I were in the livingroom. Suddenly, Dyna raced into the bedroom so I followed her and, sure enough, Sugar was having a seizure. When Sugar seizes, her head turns far to the right and her tongue turns blue so I always try to keep that from happening. Had Dyna not *told* me, I would not have known what was happening to Sugar. Sugar had 5 seizures that day. Her vet told me to give her her meds early but she still had two more seizures afterwards. Later on in the afternoon Sugar went into my husband's office, laying under his desk which is where she goes when she is definitely not feeling well and doesn't want to be bothered. Again, Dyna was with me when she suddenly raced into the office and, again, I discovered that Sugar was having a seizure. Dyna is so sweet with Sugar afterwards...licking her ears and staying close to her. That night when we went to bed Sugar was laying on the sofa and refused to come into the bedroom. Instead of trying to sleep on the sofa with Sugar, which in all honesty would have bothered her, we went to bed...leaving a lamp on in the livingroom...and leaving the bedroom door cracked. I joking told Dyna to wake me up if she heard anything. It was around 2:00AM when I heard a "woof!" and felt Dyna LEAP off the bed and race out of the bedroom. The "woof!" was intentional because she was telling me, in her own way, that something was happening that I needed to know about. It woke me up and I followed Dyna out into the livingroom to find Sugar in a full blown grand mal seizure, hanging off the side of the sofa. If I hadn't been there to place her gently on the floor she would have fallen. Dyan sat very still, staying out of the way while I tended to Sugar. As soon as the seizure ended Dyna went to Sugar and licked her ears and her head. It was so sweet and loving. Fortunately, Sugar is doing better and I have come to realize how amazing Dyna is...for a stupid young dog who barks at bugs. My husband recently had surgery to remove some tumors and, while he was in pain and miserable, Dyna was by his side. Last night my granddaughter dropped a can of soda on my toe and, as I sat on the sofa holding my sore foot, Dyna was there licking my leg and looking at me with eyes that said "You'll be okay". She has been by Sugar's side all day today...going out on the deck when Sugar goes out and staying close to her. Dyna is normally very playful but she hasn't played with her toys for two days now...I think because she doesn't want to disturb Sugar. So, does anyone else have any experience with a compassionate dog? I've had multiple dogs before in my lifetime but I've never been in a situation where one dog is sick and the other one is helping to care for it. I've always loved Dyna but I am so thankful for her these days. There have been other times when I didn't hear Sugar seizing because she was in another room...but Dyna did.
4 people like this
6 responses
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
23 May 10
I am still teary! What a lovely dog! To think that I was disagreeing with another MyLotter who said that dogs are not really capable of loving and that they do everything by instinct, I do hope she reads your post! I believe animals, especially dogs are the most loving creatures; thanks goodness for Dyna, she is beautiful; I pray that Sugar will be okay, the poor thing...
2 people like this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
23 May 10
Thanks Paula. I definitely believe that dogs are capable of loving. Many years ago we had a pair of dogs who were brothers but from different litters. We had the mother, too. One of the boys developed liver disease and, by the time he had symptoms, it was too late to save him. We brought him home but eventually had to have him put down because he was suffering. His brother very obviously missed him, looked for him and mourned for him.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85676)
• United States
23 May 10
My eyes are getting all watery! What a sweet sweet baby you have. And I do hope Sugar's seizures abate for a long time. I hate to see animals suffer.
2 people like this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
23 May 10
Thanks AmbiePam, I hope we've seen the last of Sugar's seizures for a long time, too. Dyna is a sweet dog...and a real character!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
23 May 10
What a treasure Dyna is! I have rarely heard of such a dog--they will do things for humans but rarely do you hear of one animal taking such good care of another and having the good sense to get help. I have a dog with epilepsy, too. He developed it after being bitten by a rattlesnake. He hasn't had a seizure for years and tomorrow is the twice-yearly testing of his phenobarbital levels. Cookie loves it when it's time for Gus' pills because that means they both get cheese!
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
23 May 10
I wish I could dose Sugar that easy! She's a very picky eater and decided early on that she wasn't going to eat anything with a pill in it so I've had to resort to grinding her pill down to a powder and hiding it in something. There's no guarantee that she'll eat her dog food but she loves vanilla ice cream so both she and Dyna get a little bit of ice cream twice a day.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
23 May 10
hi people just do not give dogs credit for being really smart and intuitive. Dyna is attuned to Sugar as is evident and knows exactly when she is going into seizures. what a great dog. When I had my dog Swap I would get busy in the house and with my son at school and my husband at work I would not always fix a lunch for myself. One day I was feeling the start of low blood sugar,I am diabetic, and just wanted to finish what I was doing before treating it, but my dog grabbed my sweater sleeve and pulled me to the kitchen door then whined at me til I went in, opened the fridge and took out the glass of orange juice. so he evidently knew when my blood sugar was really low and that I had to go into the kitchen and get orange juice then fix a snack.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
23 May 10
What a great dog! Yes, I believe that dogs are smarter than some people give them credit for and definitely more caring. Dyna doesn't try to play with Sugar if she's not feeling well but, when she's feeling good, they're racing around the house. It's funny to watch because Sugar can take tighter turns than Dyna since she's smaller...so Dyna ends up crashing into things.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
24 May 10
Hey spalladino~ I can't even begin to tell you how I felt reading this discussion for many reasons~ First because of my "special feelings" for Dyna, who is my "neice"! After praying for her to recover from the Parvo I am so happy to know not only that she survived, but has a "job" to do by taking care of her sick "sister" Sugar! I had a dog named Winky. And no, I didn't name him, my Mom did! My father brought him when I had my tonsils out and came home from the hospital. I was 13! Anyway, Winky ended up having "Grand Mal" Epilepsy and we had to give him meds every day and he lived to be 15 years old! He also had other very serious medical problems with his bladder and more, but he was the sweetest dog ever! You have the greatest "babysitter" possible! Dyna is apparently "fine tuned" to her "sister" so that she does know what to do! We watched my Winky the best we could, but it wasn't easy, or pleasant~ I hope that Sugar will get better~ Tell her Auntie Opal will pray for her too! Love and Hugs, Opal/Leslie
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
24 May 10
Hi Opal! Your "neice" is doing great...is a very active and healthy 65 pounds now. She's very happy that Sugar is feeling better now and wants to play. I agree, it's not easy watching over a dog with epilepsy so I'm very thankful that we have Dyna here to help. Dyna and Sugar send their love to their Auntie Opal. :)
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
24 May 10
Auntie Opal is very happy to hear that Sugar is doing better! And even happier to hear that Dyna is there for her! It's wonderful to know that my "neices" are doing ok now! I'll be in Florida again soon! Wish I could come over and "play"!
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 May 10
Where in Florida are you going to be?
• United States
20 Jul 10
Your dog Dyna sounds wonderful and I do hope Sugar's meds soon control the seizures. My compassionate dog story is only of my mother/daughter pair and Momma Tidbit always took care of her daughter Scratch. I saw the most compassion when Scratch was fixed and Tidbit allowed her in my bed and she slept on the floor. As soon as day 6 rolled around, Momma Tidbit growled and told her youngun to get out o' the bed. I figured Momma knows best and I could quit babying Scratch so much, too. I lost my Scratch a week ago... guess I'll post about it..:-) (new here, so trying to figure out what to post)