Doggie Name Change - Part Duh

 

Doggie Name Change - Part Duh: "Kenny" worked out for a good month, and then around noon on Friday January 2, the dog formerly known as Iceman, age 6.5, fell off the bed while sleeping and had a grand mal seizure. He proceeded to have 8 more grand mal seizures at home and at various vet offices and hospitals over the next 2 terrible days. Willamette Valley Vet Emergency Hospital in Corvallis was able to stabilize him with heavy meds via IV and kept him overnight. 

We don't know the cause of the seizures - they are calling it idiopathic epilepsy - seizures from an unknown cause. My guess is that his head surgery as a puppy and repeated concussions by running face/head first into corners and doors and tables and handles on a very regular basis for 6 years caught up with him like an NFL player with CTE. We will probably never know. His blood work all looks okay. He will be on 2-3 heavy anti-seizure meds every day for the rest of his life. 

One moment of levity when we were rushing him into the hospital where Kevin had reserved a spot for "Kenny" and wanted to change it when we arrived - he said to the receptionist - "It's a long story and we don't have time for it now but I do think it would be better if you called him Iceman." We were imagining them saying "Kenny, Kenny" and him not responding, and them thinking he's worse off cognitively than he is. 

 

So in light of all of that, we decided to make it easier on him, and his new name, which is honestly easier for the humans to remember as well, is... NICEMAN. Nicey the NiceMan. Had a rough start to 2026 but we are hoping for better days ahead. Seizures are a really terrible thing for a brain to do to a body and I empathize with any humans and animals dealing with them. Very grateful for the meds, which, despite some side effects (anxiety, pacing, starving hunger) that we're handling, have kept him totally seizure free for 8 days straight now. He jumped up on the couch yesterday and it seems like all the reddit threads suggested - after a week of meds, basically - "we have our dog back." We love you NiceMan!