"The Billy"
American Greyhound had received a handsome dog named Candles Sheep in March of 2009 and in early April 2009, we were contacted about taking his litter mate, Candles Billy because Billy had had a seizure during a race. When we got Billy, he looked exactly like Sheep, same tall socks, same chest markings, everything the same except Billy was fawn and Sheep was black and these brothers were not yet even 2 years old.
Sheep was very shy and Billy was very outgoing, so everyone was surprised when Sheep instantly found a home, but not Billy. Billy was tried out in 2 different homes, but due to his condition, he appeared to suffer separation anxiety and messed in his crate. It was later learned that he was actually having seizures in his crate when no one was home which were mistaken for accidents. Billy was such a looker and such an attention hound that he commanded attention wherever he went. Billy was one of the happiest dogs American Greyhound has ever rescued; nothing got this boy down. His tail never stopped wagging, add in a stuffed toy or a romp around the yard and you couldn't take your eyes off him. Billy continued to have a seizure here and there and Dr. Steve from McAfee Animal Hospital personally took Billy's case and came up with a mixture of phenobarbital and potassium bromide that kept Billy seizure free for months. We thought we had things under control and Billy had a very bright future.
For those who have never seen a seizure, they can be quite disturbing. Billy had grand mal seizures and his entire body would violently convulse. He could tell when a seizure was coming on and he would pace and pant and if we were tuned in, we'd crate all the other dogs at our house and try to get Billy on a dog bed or blanket. His body would initially start to tremble, his eyes would glaze over and he would not respond to us at that point. The trembling then turned to convulsions and his body would stiffen and he would fall over. Billy would salivate to the point it looked like he was foaming at the mouth and he usually lost control of his bodily functions. His seizures would last anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple minutes, though they seemed like forever to us. After Billy would have a seizure, he would get his bearings around him, make eye contact with us, and his tail would instantly start wagging. Even times he was still unable to stand, he would lay there and that tail was always going.
Then December of 2009, Billy started having cluster seizures and we had to make a few trips to the ER clinic located at PNC and he also spent some time at McAfees so Dr Steve could monitor him. When epileptic animals have seizures, small lesions form on their brain after each one. Billy had had so many seizures at that point that his personality changed from the lesions. By February 2010 the once outgoing, happy, nothing got him down guy stayed in his crate and quietly whimpered. Dr Steve pulled out all the stops and researched everything he could find to help Billy. After a week of seeing this once vibrant boy withering into a dog who didn't want to come out of his crate, the very painful decision was made to put Billy to sleep. Dr Steve was there for us that day also and he cried right along with us. Jeff and I adopted Billy and we have no regrets for loving this very special boy, who never made it to see his 3rd birthday. Everyone that met Billy, loved "The Billy". If American Greyhound had not agreed to take this guy, already knowing he was epileptic, he would have been put down a year before he was. In that year, he taught all of us that he touched how to live, how to love and how to play no matter what's going on in your life. Billy was one of a kind, never to be replaced and never to be forgotten. That is why he has been displayed on American Greyhound's website since his passing.
