Prayers for my neighbors Border Terrier

[Lorraine]

Okay, I know this isn't the doggie or animal forum but since I knew we have a lot of animal lovers and this dog does have a heart issue I felt I could post it here.

My neighbor/best friend has a 11 yr old Border Terrier name Sadie. Sadie was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolaspse about 8 months ago. The vet put her on a beta blocker for animals and for the last 8 months she was doing fairly well. For about the last month she started doing this hacking.coughy thing and it was getting worse. Thursday night she started throwing up all over the place. She seemed better Friday morning and was even outside chasing the squirrels, but by the afternoon she wasn't doing so good and had very labored breathing. I guess last night she was barfing all over the place again and could hardly breathe. My nieghbor took her to the vet this morning and the vet said her heart was enlarged. They did xrays and it showed she had a lot of fluid buildup. They gave her oxygen, cathreter, lasik,antibiotics and a couple of different doggie beta blockers and calcium blockers. The vet said it seemed to him like Sadie's breathing wasn't as labored as when she was brought in, so maybe the new meds were helping to reduce the swelling. The vet was closing at noon, so I drove my friend to pick up her dog and take it to the animal hospital. They said the next 24 would be critical. It could be that the chords that hold the valve together may be breaking away. So if she doesn't seem to improve, that may be the case. Then my neighbor will have to have her put down.

I am very close to Sadie, as I had to take care of her when my friend/neighbor broke her ankle 3 1/2 years ago. I would appreciate all prayers that Sadie will get better and can be at least back home by Christmas eve or day. Thank you.

 

[geebee]

I will pray for Sadie and her family and friends. I guess doing valve replacement on a dog would be prohibitively expensive (if they even do it at all). I hope the meds work and she stay around for awhile.

 

[Wise]

We will be praying for Sadie and those who love her.

 

[Bina]

Oh, poor, sweet doggie.....this is terrible. I don't think they are doing valve replacements on dogs; but Border terriers are tough little dogs, and I'm sure that Sadie is doing her best to fight for her life.
On a similar note:
My father's German Shepherd was 6 yrs old when she developed a tumour on her heart. In Montreal there is a fantastic veterinary college hospital and we brought her there for heart surgery. Yes, it was pricey, but it was a success. A year later she developed a spleen tumour which was removed with another surgery. When a third tumour grew and was on the heart again, the kindest thing to do was put her down. The cancer was out of control and the dog did not deserve to suffer.
My thoughts are with Sadie...pls keep us posted.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Deciding when to put your beloved pet down is NEVER easy, even when it is the right thing to do.

Putting my favorite dog down (a Beautiful Black Lab-Irish Setter mix - picture a Black Irish Setter) was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but it was time and he was suffering.

A young (read Inexperienced) Vet kept treating my Female Lab for 'stomach problems' when it turned out she had bladder cancer. She SUFFERED for a few weeks until I took her to a more experienced vet who confirmed that it was time. I regret to this day, not putting her to sleep sooner so that she wouldn't have had to endure those final weeks in pain.

May your friend's pet pass in Peace and Love.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Lorraine]

Gina: Thanks! I don't think they do valve surgery where we live, and if they did I'm sure it would be quite expensive. I believe when my friend took Sadie to the vet 8 months ago, he told her all they could do was give her a doggie beta blocker. I'm hoping too that her new meds she started taking today helps. She is such a sweet dog!

Wise: Thanks for the prayers.

Bina: I agree, I think Sadie will do her best to fight for her life. She is a tough! I'm sorry to hear about your fathers German Shepherd. So they did perform heart surgery. Wow! Yeah, I agree by the third time, that was enough. I will update tomorrow before I head to my sisters to celebrate Christmas, early. I'm praying that Sadie will be breathing better and maybe we can bring her back home before I leave.

Al: Yes, I understand. My friend does too. It's easier to want to have hope that something can be done to prolong your pets life, like you tried with your Lab/Setter. I tried to do the same thing for my cat a year ago. After a couple of weeks I knew I was just prolonging the inevitable.

If the vet at the hospital had stated there wasn't any hope that Sadie may get better, my friend would have put had her put down right then. The vet state though it was possible that the chords from the mitral valve may be breaking away, that was why she wanted to see if the meds would improve her breathing. If not, then we know the answer and my friend knows she will have to put her down. Thanks!

 

[westkane]

My prayers are with Sadie also, terriers are rather robust dogs and can weather quite a bit, so hopefully..... I feel your pain and concern all too well. I had the unfortunate duty of have having to put my 14 year old daschund to sleep 4 days after getting home from the hospital from my 2nd OHS. IT was for the best as he was starting to suffer, but what a rough decision, then having to tell my 8 and 10 year old it was time.
If Sadie doesn't fair so well, take comfort that my Buster will be there to greet him on the other side.

 

[Granbonny]

Pets

Pets

I am in the same boat..with my age 15 year old Cat. K.C.....We found her in a dumpster..brought her down to our houseboat..while we were building a home on the lake, she was the dock-cat. Fell in lake many times..but was able to swim to the floating and we would grab her out.. After we were ready to move into new home..had NO choice but to declaw her..after noticing she was really scraching ourwood in Houseboat....Fast forward..she traveled with us the last 15 years in Motorhome....Going all over the USA..Loved it..due to spending her first year with the noise from boats, ect...Now, in past 6 months..even tho she eats all the time..Fancy Feast. is very skinny.........she loves to come into my lap the first time..early morning..and purr up against me...Our bonding time.. An inside cat..staying in den/kitchen..but last few weeks. I have noticed that she is wanting to drinlk more water..which I know is a sign of maybe ..kidney failure... ..Also, her hair is starting to clump..But as long as she is doing all these things. No way I will take her to a vet.....Just lots of money, ect...but as long as she is NOT showing any pain..will let her live...I had a cat that lived to be age 20 ..did the same thing..then just went to sleep one night.. ..Hope your friends Sadie does well...Bonnie

 

[Bina]

Bonny, yes, it sounds like your cat could indeed be starting kidney problems or diabetes.
Animals will not show any signs of pain until it is very severe pain (self preservation instinct).
A simple blood test at the vet would be so helpful...no need to do anything else.
Pets with kidney problems do best on a low protein diet, there are special canned and dry foods for this. Hopefully she can still be comfortable for a couple more years. Best wishes.

 

[Lorraine]

I have some promising news. Sadie is breathing better on her own and is up and eating. She's being very feisty like a terrier! My friend said she could bring her home today, but I think we should wait until tomorrow. Our weather just took a nosedive from the 50's and foggy yesterday, to snowy conditions, temps in the teens and wind gusts to 50mph. I know it cost more each day she's in, but I personally don't think she could handle the wind gust when she went out to do her duty. So my friend reluctantly decided she would wait until tomorrow when it;s suppose to be a bit calmer.

Westkane: I'm sorry to hear about your daschund. 14 days after your own OHS! That had to be very hard, but like you said, you couldn't have him suffering. Having to tell young ones is hard too. Like I said, it looks like Sadie is okay for now, but I don't think it will be too long before she meets up with Buster. I will know more tomorrow when we pick Sadie up.

Granbonny: I remember you telling me about your KC when I had to put my KC down. Yeah, that kidney failure just comes on so quick. Your KC will try to hang in there as long as she can, like mine did. Mine was always affectionate, but became even more affectionate when she was declining. I am hoping for my friends sake that Sadie, when she does go, goes at home in her sleep and not suffering. Funny we both named our cats KC, spelled that way. They are both females too.

Gina: My KC wouldn't eat the vet food, as much as I tried to get her to eat it. In the last two weeks before I put her down, I had to feed her interveinously. No fun. Because of that though, when I had to give myself Lovenox shots in Aug, it was easier, because I had done it to KC.

I will write again tomorrow after we bring Sadie home. Thanks for all your prayers and inputs.

 

[Christina L]

Lorraine -

Lorraine -

Sorry to hear about Sadie but glad to know that she is better. Humans with mitral valve prolapse have all sorts of weird things happen to us - such as panic attacks and the like - it is because of the mitral valve and the central nervous system being related. I am hoping that this is all that happened with Sadie.

We have a tough little 18-year-old bichon frise, whom we adopted 4 years ago (right before my heart surgery). I was in a pet shop to buy cat food and saw Stanley up for adoption (he was so scared - it broke my heart to see that he was 14 years of age and had had 1 owner - I can imagine what Stanley was feeling) and couldn't resist him. Anyway...in May of this year, we were told Stan was in kidney failure and had 1-3 months to live tops (the vet was adamant about this). Stanley is still with us!! He is tough, but it is a balancing act - trying to figure out if they are suffering as animals have a strong will to live and will keep on keeping on until their last breath. They can't tell you if they are hurting or suffering. However, our Stanley is still eating and sleeping and we are gauging his health by those 2 things. We will not let him suffer and hope that Stanley (and God) will show us when it is time for him to leave us. That will be a terrible, terrible day.

Best wishes for Sadie and her "people." Pets just steal our hearts, don't they?

Christina L

 

[Christina L]

P.s.

P.s.

We live near Fort Collins, Colorado, which has the #2 vet school in the country at Colorado State University. Anyway, about 2 years ago "the" Lance Armstrong was seen riding his bike on the bike trails along the Front Range of Colorado - come to find out his dog was here at the vet hospital getting a valve repair or replacement - it was said it cost him $10,000.00 but to Lance Armstrong, that was a pittance. I was impressed that he would go to those lengths to help his dog get better. I think it was a labrador retriever (?).

Christina L

 

[Lorraine]

I want to thank everyone for all the prayers for Sadie. I took my friend to pick Sadie up at the Vet Hospital today. She is breathing fine again, the fluid build up on her lungs has gone down and she is back to her old self, as feisty as ever! For an almost 12 yr old she sure seemed to bounce back pretty goo. I'll have to get the name of it but they put her on a new beta blocker for animals (it's kind of experimental that they hope to use in humans in the future for valve problems. She is also on Lasix now. The vet told my friend that Sadie should take it easy and try not to let her run for a few days. Well that may be almost impossible unless she keeps her on a leash, as Sadie loves to chase squirrels, and we have plenty of them around!

Rachel: I didn;t believe they could replace a valve on a animal but I had heard of repairing it. I never heard the price before! Yikes! That is a lot of money with no guarantee! Sadie is almost 12 too, so I guess that would be another factor to consider. Thanks for the info. I will tell my friend.

Christina: Sadie too was adopted 3 1/2 years ago by my friend from Pet Smart. That Border Terrier just seem to be pleading with those huge eyes for my friend to adopt her. My friend had gone in there to buy cat food too! How ironic! So my friend rescued her and gave her a loving home. Yeah, she didn't find out about the dog having a heart murmur until March of this year. What I see is both your dog and my friends dog were adopted into loving homes and aren't ready to leave yet. Yes, our animals do steal our hearts. I'm just as attached to my nighbors dog as I am to my cat. I wish you hopes and prayers with your dog as well. Thanks for sharing the story about Armstrong's Lab.