Dog runs away, leaving behind owner with seizures

Christine Sheetz has had epileptic seizures since she was a toddler. For much of her life, she lived in fear, not knowing when the next one might strike. Then five years ago, her mother gave her a Yorkshire terrier named Faithful.Showing an uncanny ability to respond to seizures, the Yorkie changed Sheetz's life. Moments after she was stricken, Faithful barked and jumped on her, summoning others, often helping her avoid a fall in her Johnsburg home.

The dog's noisy response also alerted Sheetz's mother, Connie, when her daughter had a nighttime seizure.But on May 10, Faithful ran away after a run-in with an unleashed dog. In a last-ditch attempt to find its beloved dog, the McHenry County family is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who leads them to Faithful."He couldn't have meant more to me," Christine Sheetz, 28, said Thursday. "I haven't had children and I don't think I will. He's like the child I'll never have and like my mom's second child."Connie Sheetz bought Faithful from a McHenry breeder for $750 to provide companion for her daughter as she recuperated from brain surgery for epilepsy.

Faithful wasn't trained to respond to seizures; it was just a happy accident.But experts say an increasing number of people with epilepsy, diabetes and cardiac conditions are seeking dogs to respond to a medical problem or even alert them before they are stricken."People with epilepsy are always looking for ways to lessen the unpredictability of their seizures because it's so unpredictable," said Garret Auriemma, a spokesman for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago.Canine Assistants Inc., based in Georgia, has 700 names on a waiting list for its dogs, usually retrievers, which are trained for a number of tasks, including responding to seizures, said Tib Holland, director of development of the non-profit organization.

Canine Assistants places about 70 dogs in homes a year for free through sponsors who cover the $15,500 cost for medical care, food and training. Among other skills, the dogs can be trained to hit a button linked to 911, fetch medicine, open and close doors, and alert others to a problem.Far rarer, experts say, are dogs that can detect a seizure before it happens."Seizure alert" dogs are born with the ability to warn of impending episodes."It's a natural instinct that some dogs seem to be inclined to act on," said Darlene Sullivan, executive director of Canine Partners for Life, a Pennsylvania-organization that trains service dogs, including a small number that may show seizure-alert skills.

Sullivan and others believe that the dogs are picking up on signs, perhaps through their sense of smell, of the chemical and electrical changes occurring before a seizure.A dog's breed, size or age is not a factor in seizure-alert skills, experts said.Canine Partners for Life trains about 25 service dogs each year, primarily for people who use wheelchairs or have trouble walking. Of those 25 dogs, six might have the skill to alert others to a medical situation, Sullivan said.It costs Sullivan's organization about $20,000 to train service dogs, including those that can anticipate a seizure. But they are placed with individuals, many on fixed incomes, for $1,000 to $3,000.

Christine Sheetz, who developed epilepsy at age 2 after falls and head injuries, said Faithful would respond to her seizures even if she was in another room or upstairs in the family's two-story home."It was a wonderful blessing," she said. "He was by my side 24 hours a day. He always sat next to me in the house or wherever. It was like having a person with me, not just a dog."

Mother and daughter said they have been devastated by losing the dog."He absolutely would save her life," said Connie Sheetz, 48.

Around 7:30 p.m. May 10, Connie and Christine Sheetz were taking their evening walk with Faithful in a nearby subdivision when they passed a home just as a woman walked out with two larger dogs.One immediately attacked Faithful, biting the Yorkie and flinging him in the air; Faithful got loose from his collar during the struggle and ran away, the women said.They chased Faithful but couldn't keep up.

With other family members helping, the women searched the area until midnight.They printed 900 fliers and 150 posters, spending $1,500. They offered a $500 reward, then $1,000, and three weeks ago, they increased it to $10,000.The Sheetzes have received calls but no successful leads, and one neighbor grimly noted that the area of new subdivisions amid bean fields and cornfields is rampant with coyotes and hawks.

Shortly after they lost the dog, the women got a new 4-month-old Yorkshire terrier.Reflecting their wish for Faithful's safe return, they named it Hope.So far, the pup hasn't shown seizure-response skills.The reward money will come from Connie Sheetz's savings from her last job as a part-time manager of a heating and air conditioning company."It won't help [finances]," she said, "but it would be the best money that I could ever spend if I could get this dog back."