CARY - Jessica Crosby and her 4-year-old dachshund Brentley were perched on the sofa at home in Cary watching TV one night last April, when Brentley started acting strange.

"He just went stiff and started shaking all over," said Crosby, 24.

Crosby searched for her veterinarian's number on her cell phone and raced Brentley to a veterinary hospital in Cary."I didn't know what was happening, or when it would end," Crosby said.

When blood tests didn't offer clues, Crosby's regular veterinarian offered a plausible diagnosis: epilepsy.

Dachshunds are among the breeds most likely to have the chronic neurological condition, which is characterized by recurring seizures.

Indeed, the most popular breeds in Wake County - Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, beagles and German shepherds - are prone to epilepsy, according to veterinarians at N.C. State University, who since June have been playing a key role in finding a more effective treatment for the condition.

Brentley is one of 16 dogs being observed at N.C. State's College of Veterinary Medicine as part of a nationwide study to help scientists find a better medicine to treat canine epilepsy.

Epilepsy is among the most common canine neurological disorders, affecting more than 4 million dogs.

But there is only one approved anticonvulsant drug for treating the disorder: Primidone.

The other option - and the most popular one - works well for humans, but isn't approved for dogs.

But both can cause excessive drowsiness, lack of coordination and, in some instances, toxicity to the liver.

A veterinary pharmaceutical company that the study's administrators declined to name is sponsoring the clinical trial.

The company hopes the Food and Drug Administration will eventually approve the drug to treat dog seizures.

"This drug has been tested before," said Karen Muñana, a veterinary neurologist at N. C. State and investigator in the trial. "But we still don't know how safe it is in dogs with epilepsy, or really how effective it is."

Several hundred dogs have been enrolled in 30 centers nationwide since the trial began two years ago.

Five of the dogs at N.C. State, including Brentley, passed screening and are taking either the experimental drug or an approved control drug.

During his 12-week observation period, Brentley suffered three seizures.

He was placed on medication more than a month ago.

Since then, Brentley has remained seizure-free, and has had no side effects.

Enrollment in the clinical trial comes with some benefits, including free diagnostic tests, CT scans or MRIs and up to $330 in services at a veterinary hospital.

Brentley was the model patient during a recent check-up at N.C. State: Happy, apparently healthy, and perfectly willing to let two veterinarians ply their craft on him.

At first, he glanced around the room uncomfortably.

But once Crosby cradled him and placed him on the metal examination table, Brentley sat still while the doctors peered into his eyes and floppy ears with a light.

Everything checked out fine.

Epilepsy is unlikely to cut Brentley's life short.

But Crosby can expect Brentley to be on some sort of seizure medication his entire life.

"I hear the medicine is not that expensive," Crosby said. "But you have to give it every day."

That's fine with Crosby, who already devotes her time to several other dogs.

"Our pets are part of our family, and Brentley's my little baby," she said.

"Anything I have to do for him, I'll do it."