When diagnosed by her childhood doctor with epilepsy and told she would always have to live with others, Joann Weber, now 55, believed him. For years, her seizures, which include complex partial seizures, repetitive motion, grand mal, and status epilepticus (which can be life threatening), kept her from living independently.
In her 30s, Joanne discovered seizure response dogs and now lives on her own, confident that her golden retriever will respond before or when a seizure occurs.
“Dogs are wonderful,” Joanne says. “And they provide a lot more than just assistance. The keys to minimizing seizures are food, rest, meditations, low stress, and exercise. My dog provides companionship, nudges me when my medication alarm goes off, gets me out walking daily, and provides comfort and stimulation during a seizure.”
The Benefits of Seizure Dogs
Joanne is now on her third dog since her second dog, Willie, passed away last year at age 14. Since owning seizure dogs, Joanne’s seizures have become less frequent and less severe. She also credits her decreased seizure activity to improvements in medications.
Interest in seizure response dogs first arose in the 1980s when the news media reported that a woman’s dog seemed to know when she was about to have a seizure.
What They're Trained to Do
Nowadays, seizure assistance dogs are trained to pick up dropped objects, brace themselves to help their owner get up after a fall, retrieve a phone, and even call for assistance by hitting preprogrammed buttons on a phone or hitting a wall or floor-mounted push plate that notifies a neighbor, spouse, or 911.
Joanne’s phone is prerecorded in her own voice with a message that her service dog has pushed the call button and that she needs assistance. Some organizations claim they can train a dog to alert their owners of an impending seizure seconds or up to 45 minutes before it happens, but currently, research has not supported this claim.
“We do not believe that the alert can be trained,” says Deb Davis, Communications Manager for Paws With A Cause, the nation’s largest provider of Service Dogs trained to deal with seizure disorders. Deb has, however, seen this develop after a dog is placed in the home. “We believe the dogs learn this ability on their own based on the deep bond that develops with their owner, ” she says.
A Dog's Response to a Seizure
Willie developed this ability within six months of being with Joanne. When he sensed a seizure coming on, Willie would nudge her and be insistent that she stop what she was doing. One particular late evening when Joanne was up on a ladder rearranging things in the kitchen, Willie started nudging her. Thinking he was just reminding her it was the time they usually went outside, she ignored his cues. Unfortunately, he was right on in his warning. Joanne had a seizure, fell and hit her head on the counter. Willie retrieved the phone, called for help, and then stayed with her providing stimulation through licking until help came. After a two-day stay in the hospital, Joanne was able to return home. Other dogs have been reported to lick their owner’s hands, bark at the owner’s face, or act restless and pace prior to the person’s seizure.
While many different breeds can be trained to serve as seizure assistance dogs, Paws With A Cause generally uses golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers or a mix between the two, building on their “God-given” talent of retrieving.
Joanne just trained with her third seizure dog, Mitchell, from March to July. While Mitchell doesn’t yet predict seizures, Joanne is confident that he will develop the ability.
“I think it will just be a matter of time until Mitchell learns to forewarn seizures,” she says. “Thanks to my dog, I can live independently, secure enough that whatever happens, I’ll be okay.”
Resources
Delta Society—search for assistance dogs by state, country, or internationally
Photos courtesy of Paws With A Cause
