As Close As Han and Chewbacca

There are service dogs for just about everything a human could need. There are seeing eye dogs, Diabetes Alert dogs, Rehab therapy dogs, Therapy dogs for our military suffering from PTSD... The list goes on and on. Imagine the need, and there is a powerful pooch filled with love and training, to help you through.

Not to my surprise, there are also Seizure Alert Dogs. They have been trained to sense seizures in their human, sometimes even as much as forty-five minutes before a seizure occurs! There are many articles that address them, (I'll put the links to the ones I've found most helpful, at the bottom of this post) and I've found that they are especially important to children battling Epilepsy.

Yes, they're great for recognizing the seizures. But in my little, not-so-informed-yet opinion, I think that it's the mere fact that the kiddos who deal with their illness, just need a good friend; A non judgemental, loads of fun, happy-go-lucky, tail wagging friend. And what's incredible in our family is that by total accident, Renn has just that.

From the time Renn was born, he had a best friend. His name is Roscoe, and he's our Australian Shepherd. To say that Roscoe is a "great dog" is a gross understatement. He is by far the most gentle, lovable, puppy-like nine year-old dog, alive. From the time Renn could crawl, Roscoe was the jungle gym of the family. But often you'd see these two in   <--- this position you see here.

They've shared a bond that I honestly didn't understand until this year. You see...

Roscoe also suffers from seizures.

Renn and Roscoe are so very close. Roscoe has always seemed to understand Renn, and there were times that I was a bit jealous. And when Renn's seizures started this year, it broke me in half when it hit me... Roscoe has always known.

When Renn has a seizure, now, Roscoe follows him around. And if Renn sees his pup, he'll start loving on him, and the seizure ceases. It's incredible.

I can't say that we have a Seizure-Alert Dog... But we do have a pal that helps our sweet boy smile, everyday.

To watch them together, I imagine them being as close as Han Solo and Chewbacca, flying in the Millennium Falcon, searching for their next bounty. And it makes me feel fantastic that at least someone understands what Renn is going through, and can help him on a totally different level.

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If you are curious about Seizure-Alert Dogs, visit EpilepsyEpilepsy.com or EpilepsyFoundation.org for their take on the sweet doggies.