A New Year - Wolf Park

(Continued from page 1 - Maya)Dr. Elizabeth Clohecy was in the seminar and she drew blood right after theseizure. Dr. Klinghammer took it in to Dr. Harper's clinic for lab tests to beperformed again. We hoped that this sample taken so soon after the seizure,might show something definitive. Once again the results were unremarkable.This second time Maya did not seem as terrified, and she was cooperativeabout having her blood drawn. Afterward she acted very tired and just wantedto rest.We looked for Maya repeatedly during the day. A couple of times we foundher in what may have been the aftermath of a seizure - foamy, apprehensive,withdrawn, and somewhat uncoordinated. We took her out of the pack onOctober 15)and put her in a holding pen at East Lake. Her motor coordinationdeteriorated and she oftencrossed her paws and stumbledover grass clumps. She alsobegan to display a variety of ticseven if she was not having fullblown seizures: Her facialmuscles would appear to spasm,she tossed her head upward,yawned abnormally often,snapped at phantom insects,and though she maintained agood appetite, she oftenseemed unable to feel meatprecisely enough to keep fromdropping large gobs of NebraskaBrand as she chewed. Hersocial behavior deteriorated aswell. If she approached at all,she showed intense approachavoidance conflict, andpermitted little if any touching.For a few days after her removalfrom the pack she also flinched ifwe tried to touch the top of herhead, as if touch there werepainful. This was on a goodday.On a bad day she seemed abnormally sensitive to loud sounds - I saw herears virtually flutter, not just twitch, when a neighbor let off a volley of gunshots.She also reared and flinched as if shocked when tall grass stems brushed herfur.Typically the intensity of her bad spells would gradually decrease and herbehavior become normal or nearly so - but after a setback she was notimmediately ready to be handled or accept restraint. It was as if she wassuffering psychologically, as well as physically. The experience must havebeen frightening as well as painful.On her good days we tried to overcome her fear with play sessions andsocial grooming. Sometimes we brought her brother, Tristan, in to visit her.Tristan was the least likely of the pups to harass her and we hoped his visitswould build her confidence. At worst, we didn't have to worry much about themfighting. "It's like putting two roly-polys together in a jar." remarked Monty.Working under these conditions was especially frustrating and discouraging forme because we did not know for sure how long our window of opportunity togive Maya positive experiences would last or if play-time with us or Tristanmight be suddenly paired with a seizure, or the onset of other painful orfrightening symptomsAfter Maya's removal from the pack, puppy mother Jutta Schulke spentmuch of her remaining time at the park monitoring Maya. She also shot footageof Maya, documenting her symptoms, and we sent the footage to Dr. Speiser, aveterinarian with neurological experience. He was sure he could rule outepilepsy - by mid October she was showing signs of impairment that lasteddays beyond any seizures. The array of possibilities was daunting - from wateron the brain to degeneration of the myelin sheathing of Maya's nerves, andunnerving possibilities in between.We discussed euthanasia - the prospect for controlling Maya's symptoms didnot seem good and though we might reduce their severity for a while it did notseem likely that she would have a good life or, indeed, a long one. We even setMaya explores the new landscape after the first snowfall of the year.a date for the deed - the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Monday, the daybefore, was a day of halcyon weather. Maya had several good days in a rowand Amanda and I took Tristan in for a final play-time with Maya. She enjoyed itand was very out going with us and the interns as well as with Tristan."Sometimes I hate my job." said Amanda to me, as a grinning Maya wriggledtowards us, rubbing like a big cat and greeting exuberantly. The sun set in abeautiful red sky. We took Tristan back to the bosom of his family where hewas immediately tripped up and extensively munched by his siblings.On Tuesday morning Dr. Klinghammer and Peggy Marsico went out to takea last look at Maya and say good bye. You could say Maya pled eloquently forher life. She greeted me hesitantly and then visibly warmed to the idea ofcompany. When Dr. Klinghammer and Peggy came in, Maya gave a him anexuberant greeting, almost climbing inhis lap, rubbing, bouncing up to lick,rolling over and presenting a blackfurry tummy to rub. She was sohappy to have visitors. Peggy andthe interns were greeted. Maya shotaround the pen like a well coordinatedbottle rocket. Though she trippedonce it seemed with in the bounds ofnormal puppy clumsiness, not theimpaired gaits she had shown duringher last bad spell. Also she did nottrip at the same spot the next fewtimes she rocketed around the pen.Dr. Klinghammer reversed thedecision to euthanize her and said wewould continue to monitor her. As ofDecember 8 her symptoms havedecreased, if not steadily, at least withno serious set backs, for a month -the longest period of progress sinceher first seizure. On December 9 wetried moving her temporarily to a largeenclosure so we could bring in otherphoto by Monty Sloanwolves than just Tristan. It went sowell, meeting Erin and Marion, Karinand Miska, that we fenced off the corridor, opened the gates and let the packcirculate freely. This went so well that we simply coaxed all the wolves,including Maya back into the Turtle Lake Enclosure. Next morning there werefive adults and four very happy puppies in the enclosure.At this point we cannot say what Maya's future is or how long it will last. Butfor the moment she is happy, accepted by her pack and able to enjoy a normallife.We would like to thank the following veterinarians who saw Maya, footage ofher symptoms, or just let us pick their brains on her behalf:Dr. Cheri CaparelliDr. Elizabeth ClohecyDr. James SpeiserDr. Chris AlbertIndianapolis Veterinary Emergency CenterIndianapolis, In.Dr. Noreen GlabowiczHorizon Veterinary ServiceDelphi, In.Dr. Mary RobinsonPaw Prints/PetsburghLafayette, In.Dr. David MartinPurdue University, InDr. David HarperAnimal Medical Clinic6Wolf Park News Fall 1998