my mother's 11 year old boxer has a penchant for being a drama queen. he never responds well to certain situations (like uniformed men entering the house, or plumbers) and will usually act out afterwards from sheer spite.

a situation he hates hates hates is when my mother and stepfather go away on vacation. they do this every year to some exotic over-seas destination (in spite of claims they're poor...) and every year the dog gets horribly depressed in response OR attempts to die. a few of his near-death experiences involve:

-getting torn apart by the family pitbull (the pit is a rescue from dog fights and while he loves the boxer, my mother thought putting them in the same kennel run would be a good idea. the enviroment was traumatizing and the pitbull relapsed. vet techs found him licking the boxer's barely-living body when they came in the next morning)
-having his stomach flip
-getting a rather intense anal gland infection (BLOODY PUSSFARTS)

we (my sister and i) told them not to go on vacation again this year because the dog is really old and probably wouldn't survive their leaving. boxers usually only live to about 10, and he's 11 with numerous near-death experiences under his belt and a record of medical emergencies during summer. but they left anyway :|

so of course, he had a medical emergency. during heatwave '11, he started having violent seizures. my sister carried him out of the house and took him to the emergency vet clinic where they administered enormous doses of valium to stop the seizures. he wasn't running a temp, so it wasn't heat stroke. they suspected either a brain tumor or stroke, but since no MRI had been authorized by the owners (who are in morocco and left no contact information) my sister, stepbrother and i were left to handle the situation.

we debated putting him down, but also debated his chances of recovery. we advised they place him under observation and lower the dosage of valium. at the first sign of backsliding or seizure, he would be put down. but if his condition improved and he didn't have any further seizures, keep lowering the valium until he's back on track.

well, he hasn't seized again. my sister and stepbrother went to see him (i can't, i'm several states away) and said he clearly recognized them, although he's still in pretty sore shape. he'll probably be there for several more days until he comes out from under the valium entirely, and by then my mother and stepfather will be home and can decide if they want an MRI or not.

i thought it out long and hard...the dog is old, and really it is nearly his time. but he's not our dog. it'd be wrong to make the call to put him to sleep, especially if he's still clearly got the will to live. so yeah. bowser's still kicking. he'll probably live to wag his stubby tail at our post-wedding-party, but i doubt he'll live much past it.

beast.

(here's a pic of the boxer when he came and staye with us for a bit)