I am raising funds, not for my family we will NOT profit from this at all, but I need money to start a charity to help owners in the UK who have dogs that suffer with epilepsy. Thank you, in advance, if you are taking the time to read this. It's a very important subject. A donation from 1p to £10 all counts, please donate even if you think it will not because believe me you will help change lives!

Back in January our little boy, aged 21 months at the time, was diagnosed as having 'idiopathic epilepsy' after several frightening seizures. Idiopathic means no cause can be diagnosed during life and no lesions are demonstrable at autopsy. The diagnosis is made by ruling out all extracranial and other intracranial causes. In dogs, this disorder occurs most frequently in certain breeds, particularly Spaniels, German Shepherd Dogs, Bordie Collies, Beagles and Rhodesian Ridgebacks to name but a few, in which it is regarded as an inherited trait. Generalized seizures begin occurring at a young age, typically from 1 to 3 years; the affected dog is otherwise normal. Due to our little boys condition I started a Facebook group in February strictly for the UK (as the parameters are different to global) called Dogs With Epilepsy (UK Only).

It takes a very special person/family to look after an epileptic dog. Watching something you love so dearly and that has become part of the family have awful, frightening seizures is something I cannot explain. I can appreciate this as I am a drug resistant epileptic myself so have 24/7 care from my husband and daughter. For me though there is hope as humans can be put forward as candidates for surgery but this is not so for dogs. A dog cannot tell you if it feels funny or is about to fit, it just happens. I am now experiencing what my daughter and husband have done for years, watching helplessly whilst your dog has a seizure and sometimes not just one but 3 or more in a row this is called a cluster and can be very dangerous. There is also Status Epilepticus defined as a continuous seizure activity lasting longer than 30 minutes or the occurrence of two or more seizures without full recovery of consciousness during the interictal period, that is, between seizures. SUDEP means Sudden Unexpected Death from Epilepsy and the tragic unexpected loss of a dog is always painful. Most of us don’t think of our dogs suddenly dying with no warning, but it does occur. This is why I want to raise funds to start a charity! I do not want another family to lose their pet due to not having sufficient funds or having the pressure that it creates on a family of not being able to access the correct treatment. The majority of insurance companies will not insure a pre-existing condition (such as epilepsy) and if they become epileptic during a policy year the next year's premium hikes drastically.

Please keep an eye out! A few personal stories will be appearing here in the next few days...