I have a foster pup right now, along with my three boys. It is definitely a challenge even though he's a wonderful dog, and for the most part the boys are getting along quite well with him.
Then came the storm.
Linus was in my lap. Dodge (foster) was on the ottoman, using one of my legs as a pillow. A little more suddenly than usual, I had a fairly major bilateral leg seizure come on. Linus knows what to do -- he got off of me in order to sit right next to me until it started slowing down. Dodge, of course, had not experienced such a thing. He thought I was playing with him... so he naturally thought the thing to do was to attack my legs. Linus went into full protection mode. He was ready to tear Dodge apart. I was still fully seizing, but knew I had an emergency on my hands. While commanding both dogs vocally, I managed to stand up on thoroughly shaking legs. I got a hold of Dodge and pulled him through the room to the kennel room, and got him into his kennel. I made it most of the way back to the couch before the legs gave out. Linus was going crazy between barking at Dodge and checking on me. Mr. B was pacing in the corner; he generally has a tough time with my seizing. Buddy was on alert but stayed on the far edge of the couch the whole time. The legs finally started slowing down, and Linus climbed on top of me, remarkably calmly. He knows what I need most. I held him for longer than usual. When I was able to get up, I closed the kennel room door and curled up on the couch again. Buddy had relaxed once Linus was on me. Mr. B, bless his heart, then took over Dad-watching duties, and curled up with me. Linus saw that everyone in the room was okay, grabbed his blanket, and made a bed on the floor.
The storm passed. The next morning, Linus and Dodge were at peace with each other again. But I remained sore for two days... a small price for all four dogs making it through the hurricane.
