Bosco gave me a scare this morning. We got up about 5:45 as usual, went out and he peed and he brought the newspaper in (as usual), he had a couple of treats (as usual) and I settled on the couch with my iPad and him laying at my feet (as usual). After a bit he got up and went around the corner to the front door barked at something and I got up to look but saw nothing and sat back down. Next thing I notice is him going around in circles and wobbling around like he was drunk. He kept moving his head around quickly and panting more than usual. I picked him up and held him for a while, put him back on the floor and he was still acting wobbly. I woke up my wife and we were trying to decide if we should call the emergency clinic ($$$). Then a few minutes later he seemed to be more stable and I took him back outside, he pooped twice and peed again and seemed to be walking normally. At 8AM my wife called our regular vet and he called back and said it was probably a “vestibular episode”, and asked if we took a video of it. They said it would be hard to diagnose without seeing him in the act. We googled it and it occurs mostly in older dogs (he’s 13) and can be due to thyroid problems. The vet just put him on a thyroid pill a couple of weeks ago. So the rest of the day he’s been totally himself. If it happens again, we will videotape it and carry him over to the vet. Scary stuff.
