Even on his 14th birthday, Thunder's health was relatively good.  About 8 years ago, Thunder suffered from a freak running accident where he was stepping over some branches in our backyard. In an instant, his back legs were completely paralyzed. Apparently, he twisted his back in such a way whereby he had something called a Fibro Cartilage Embolism. The problem healed itself in a couple of weeks as Thunder began to walk again, regaining most of his coordination and ability to run and enjoy a quality life.
     This neurological problem seemed to reassert itself over the past year as Thunder had decreasing ability to  control  his back legs. It appeared to be a combination of this problem along with degenerative myelopathy, a common problem with the GSD breed. We purchased a walking cart to keep Thunder mobile.  Here's a pix of Thunder looking out over the Pacific with his new wheels.
     Prior to that, Thunder started his 2x/week therapy sessions at a local clinic.  This consists of walking on a partially submerged treadmill.  He did pretty well on this for awhile and enjoyed the treats he received at the end.  However, his condition suddenly worsened in mid-December after spending the morning at the local park.  About 10 minutes after arriving back home, I heard a noise in the other room. Thunder had passed out on the floor, suffering from his first-ever seizure.   He was completely motionless, appearing to have died.  After a minute or so, he came back to life, sat up and looked at though nothing had happened. Since this occurred on a Sunday, we resolved to wait for the next day before taking Thunder to the vet. However, he seized again that evening so we rushed him over to the emergency clinic. After a number of tests, and one more seizure early the next morning, Thunder stayed overnight until we brought him to a primary care clinic. There, Thunder received a Rx for Phenobarbitol. Taking the pheno eliminated the seizures, but made Thunder drowsy and lacking in muscular coordination. Unfortunately, Thunder was unable to walk anymore, even with the use of the cart.
     I had researched phenobarbitol on the internet. It seemed the symptoms of wobbliness and reduced stamina would be minimzed after taking the drug for 2 weeks or so. We therefore decided to wait and see if Thunder's body would adjust to the medication, waiting to see if Thunder could regain some of the agility he had before the first seizure. After two weeks, everything turned downhill. Early in the morning, Thunder suffered from bloat. This time, he was really suffering. We rushed him again to the all-night emergency clinic where they were able to relieve the pressure in his stomach.  During this time we also found out that he had a urinary infection, probably caused by the incontinence and susceptibility to infection during this time.  The photo at the left/top shows Thunder during his last evening, watched over by his brother Disco.
     Thunder crossed over the rainbow bridge soon after. The veterinarian came to our house to administer the drugs to relieve his suffering. Thunder had received sedatives the night before and was very relaxed.  He passed away peacefully.