I will never forget the horrendous day my dog had a seizure. It was so terrifying.
Spring break had just ended and it was my first day back in school after our family’s vacation to Keystone, Colorado. I had just come home and was talking to my parents, when we heard a faint thumping noise. We couldn’t figure out what the sound was, so my parents sent me to go and check on my fifteen-year-old dog, Natasha. When I arrived got downstairs, I saw Tasha lying on her dirty pillow chomping down hard on the blanket, shaking violently. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stared blankly at her for what seemed like forever. When I could think and breath again, I screamed for my dad (since he is Tasha’s favorite person, he came into my mind first). My parents came sprinting down the stairs. My mom told me quietly to go upstairs, so I obeyed.
A few minutes later my mom walked upstairs and told me I could come down. I slowly drudged down the stairs, and saw my dad talking to Tasha. I sat down next to them, and saw that my dad was crying. A sight I haven’t seen since I was in kindergarten and my dad’s dad died. That’s when the tears started to come. My mom was on the phone with the vet and she was also crying. We decided that we should carefully take her to the vet.
I asked to go with my dad and Tasha, whose eyes were glazed over, almost taking on a glassy appearance. My dad said I could go. My new brown and pink Keystone sweatshirt was covered in smelly dog saliva and short white dog fur. I sat in the front seat of our blue mini van next to my dad with a wobbly Tasha between us. I was holding on tight to her, but she was slipping. Tasha started to yelp, she was in an uncomfortable position and I couldn’t pull her up. My dad swerved the car to the side of the road and jumped out of the car. He threw open the back door and shoved Tasha up into a more suitable position.
A few everlasting minutes later, we arrived at the vet clinic. In the mad rush of getting Tasha to the vet, we had forgotten her leash, so my dad carry her in (she couldn’t walk anyways). When we got inside, Tasha started to bark. My dad started talking to her saying, “I know there are dogs in here, but stay calm.” She had sensed there were dogs in the building. While, my dad was signing Tasha in, I sat down on a cold hard bench next to her. I looked at her through red, blurry eyes. It scared me how hopeless she looked. My dad drudged over to us and sat down. A lady came up to us holding a small dog wrapped up in a blanket with a cone on its head. She said “You’re dog is beautiful. Is she a husky?” “Yes”, my dad said. It surprised me that people still said how pretty she was, even in the circumstances we were in. A nurse walked out of a room in the back and told us we could come in. My dad picked up Tasha carefully and started walking. I looked at him searching for any hope, but there wasn’t any. We walked into a room with a bench off to the side and a table with a sink in the middle of the room. The smiling nurse told us the veterinarian would be with us in a minute, and asked me if I needed a tissue. I said, “No.”.
Finally the doctor walked in. He politely said hello and began to talk to my dad about seizures. He told him that usually if a dog is older than eight and it has a seizure they put it down. Oh no I thought Tasha is almost twice as old as eight. A nudge on my leg made me snap back. Tasha was trying to crawl under my legs. The doctor asked if I was the one Tasha usually followed around. My dad said no and that he was the one Tasha usually followed around. “Okay, said the doctor why don’t you both walk over to that corner.” We did as we were told and walked to the corner the doctor pointed to. Tasha followed us! The doctor told us that that meant she was coming out of her seizure.
The doctor said that we should call my mom and discuss an appointment to put Tasha down. My dad borrowed the doctor’s cell phone and called home. My mom had stayed home to get my sister Emily off the bus. My parents couldn’t decide what to do so my dad asked the doctor if we should do it now. “I think you should let your other daughter say good bye first” The doctor said.
We drove home and set Tasha up in the basement. My parents made me go to bed because it was late and Tasha kept trying to get up and give me kisses. She knew I was upset. My dad decided to sleep on the floor with Tasha all night.
The next morning she was walking quite well! Not falling every time she stood up. My parents said that we didn’t have to put her down. I grinned from ear to ear, I was so happy. I could keep the dog I’ve know my whole life.
Although Tasha still has seizures, she recovers really well and fast from them. She is sixteen and still runs! That’s why we call her Rocket Dog. She greats me with a tail wag and what I think is a smile every morning.