Public perception of epilepsy in dogs is more favorable than in humans

Objectives: With the use of YouTube (TM), this study provides results on both the demographics and public perception for a sample of videos of canine epilepsy. Methods: A random sample of 150 videos was collected, the uploader description was recorded, and viewers' comments were coded according to their emotional and informational content. Results: More comments were found to be sympathetic than derogatory, and there were more information-providing than information-seeking comments. The number of sympathetic comments was found to correlate positively with the number of derogatory comments, and the number of information-providing comments correlated positively with the number of information-seeking comments. Conclusion: These findings shed light on the variation in perceptions of seizures in dogs, which are interestingly more sympathetic towards dogs with epilepsy than towards humans with epilepsy. This highlights the potential future use of YouTube in investigating public views as well as in informing and educating. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.