Meet Ceilidh!

This beautiful face belongs to Ceilidh, pronounced "kay-lee" for those of you who aren't familiar with Gaelic. She turned 6 this past November. She is the absolutely most intense little creature I have ever met. I love her to pieces! Although there are times that she sorely tries what little patience I have left. Due to her health problems, she doesn't do agility, except for NADAC Tunnelers. Ceilidh is epileptic and has been since she was under a year of age. But that doesn't seem to slow her down. Her epilepsy is under control with a variety of medications. Her regular vet and her neurology vet work together to keep her on an even keel. Not an easy task with a dog like her. Ceilidh is impulsive, high strung, sensitive, hypervigilant at times, reactive and... like the Energizer bunny, she keeps going and going and going... When everyone else wants to take a time-out, Ceilidh is still sitting at the back door wanting more. But that's okay, we're used to it by now. She can drive everyone a little nuts at times, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

     She is a herding demon who earned her PT at the Border Collie National in 2009 and up until last year, she loved to play flyball. But when her seizures increased after class, her neurology vet put the skids to the flyball. She is now learning to track... something I have no patience for, but she loves. I know people who LOVE to go tracking. To me, it's like watching paint dry. But because Ceilidh enjoys the nosework, I pull up my big girl panties and deal. When the weather is rainy and sloppy like it has been most of this Spring, we play nosegames in the house finding cookies in the livingroom.

Living with an epileptic dog has its challenges. Her seizures are difficult for us to watch, knowing she is aware of what is happening, but she isn't able to control her own body. We've lived with her with this disease for most of her life with us. We had hoped that there was some other reason that she was having this seizure-like activity when she was younger, but unfortunately, the final diagnosis was epilepsy. In the hopes that we can help other dogs, she became part of the epilepsy study for Border Collies. I only find it a shame that her breeder declined to participate even after I offered to pay for the blood draws and mailing of the samples. I would do anything in the world for Ceilidh to not have this disease. Having her blood drawn and sharing her pedigree with the study is the least I can do to further research. We've learned a great deal about the disease. Ceilidh is a study in herself. She was put on venison food, because after intensive research, I found that venison was the least reactive protein for seizures. She gets no processed food, nothing smoked or aged, no beef. We recently added buffalo and salmon to her menu with success. Our lives revolve around her medication schedule. She is not a low maintenance kind of girl. Most people would have given her back to the breeder. I only thought about it for a brief, fleeting moment. But this is a home that is able to deal with the meds, the visits to the specialist, and the constant vigilance over every aspect of Ceilidh's medical life. This is a forever home no matter what the challenges are...

She is a love bug. Not a mushy lap dog, but more of a "I need to be near and touching you" dog. I fight her for leg space every night on our bed. Finally, we compromise somehow and fall asleep. Amazingly, she's never on the hubby's side of the bed. She liked it better when I worked midnights I think. She had my side all to herself. I love her intensity and her focus when she chooses to use it. I love her sense of humor and how the Princess rules the boys. She's still trying to decide how she feels about Duchess Gem. I think Ceilidh likes being a big sister. She just doesn't like the sharp teeth and "in your face" puppy stuff. Gem will grow out of that and she and Cei will be BFFs... as long as Gem understands just who the Princess is in the house. And that is and always will be Ceilidh. <3 <3 <3