Please Don’t Go
Snowy is very sick and there is nothing I can do to make her feel better.
Snowy was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in early October. The normal thyroid counts in a dog is 18 but snowy blood tested for 9 which is low and unhealthy. This also resulted obesity, hair loss/excessive shedding, dry hair coat and sensitive skin. She was given medication to increase the thyroid counts and is require to do a blood test every month to monitor the status.
Lately, I realized that Snowy seems lethargy all the time and is losing her appetite. The most disturbing part was that she pants heavily at night while resting which really bothers me. Thus I decided to bring her to the vet on 04 Feb. I told the technician that she is panting heavily and she gives me priority to see the Vet. This tells me that it is serious.
The Vet had a careful examination; took x-rays and EKG to confirmation her doubts. Snowy had heart failure; congestive heart failure. Her heart is enlarging from normal 8cm to 12 cm which is abnormal. As her heart is unable to pump enough blood to her muscle tissue, it leads to fluid retention in her lungs. This is the main cause for the heavy panting. The weak heart and the fluid in the lungs make it difficult for her to breath and it is very critical. The vet gave us some mediation to drain the excess fluid in the lungs and some heart medication to ease her pain. Vet also warned us that she will be very thirsty and will not be able to hold her bladder due to the medication. We are to monitor her closely. Once she is panting heavily, we have to check her tongue if it turns blue as it means that she is suffocating.
She is home that same day but things started to go very wrong day by day. Initially she coughed badly after drinking a lot of water and then she will pee everywhere like the vet had warned. Good thing is her panting stopped. Then the nightmare unfolds. She is vomiting and having diarrhea even without much food intake. She seems restless all the time and is not responsive to our calls. She will make wheezing sound and breathing very quickly at night while resting. She is also shivering at night which the vet says that it means that she is in pain. Gradually, her tummy start to swell from the excess fluid and now she has lose her appetite completely. She had zero food intakes for 2 week and her weight dropped from 22.6kg to 15.5 kg in about 7 days. I am so worried. How long can dogs goes without food!
I brought her to the vet again as her condition really worries me. The vet told me that she is dehydrated even though she is drinking a lot of water. She is also losing a lot of water from the vomiting and diarrhea. She has to be hospitalized for 2 days to be place under a dip. At the same time, the vet tried to give her some food but she simply refuse to take any so they have to resort to force feeding. She is vomiting a lot after they try to force feed her. I can only imagine the pain that she is going through.
Today they took a blood test and it shows an early stage of kidney failure. She have to maintain a low protien diet and change her dosage of medication so that she does not stress her Kidney. Problem is her heart needs the medication to help it pump properly and remove the excess fluid but the medication is too stressful for Kidney. Case is very delicate now.
With all the other organs falling apart day after day and the impending tests and medication, it really hurts me to see her go through all these pain.
I gathered enough courage to ask the vet how long can she survive with all the existing condition. The vet calmly explains to me. Spitz usually have a life span of 10 years but with some illness, we can plus minus 2 year. She is 7 this year and since she is suffering from a heart condition, she is likely to have 6 month to 2 year more. But heart failure leads to more complication in other organs which they cannot predict at the moment…. The vet goes on and on but I couldn’t take in any more information. My heart break the moment I know that she is leaving me soon.
Snowy, please be strong and please be brave. We will go through this painful process together as a team. Please hold on. I love you!
Snowy was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in early October. The normal thyroid counts in a dog is 18 but snowy blood tested for 9 which is low and unhealthy. This also resulted obesity, hair loss/excessive shedding, dry hair coat and sensitive skin. She was given medication to increase the thyroid counts and is require to do a blood test every month to monitor the status.
Lately, I realized that Snowy seems lethargy all the time and is losing her appetite. The most disturbing part was that she pants heavily at night while resting which really bothers me. Thus I decided to bring her to the vet on 04 Feb. I told the technician that she is panting heavily and she gives me priority to see the Vet. This tells me that it is serious.
The Vet had a careful examination; took x-rays and EKG to confirmation her doubts. Snowy had heart failure; congestive heart failure. Her heart is enlarging from normal 8cm to 12 cm which is abnormal. As her heart is unable to pump enough blood to her muscle tissue, it leads to fluid retention in her lungs. This is the main cause for the heavy panting. The weak heart and the fluid in the lungs make it difficult for her to breath and it is very critical. The vet gave us some mediation to drain the excess fluid in the lungs and some heart medication to ease her pain. Vet also warned us that she will be very thirsty and will not be able to hold her bladder due to the medication. We are to monitor her closely. Once she is panting heavily, we have to check her tongue if it turns blue as it means that she is suffocating.
She is home that same day but things started to go very wrong day by day. Initially she coughed badly after drinking a lot of water and then she will pee everywhere like the vet had warned. Good thing is her panting stopped. Then the nightmare unfolds. She is vomiting and having diarrhea even without much food intake. She seems restless all the time and is not responsive to our calls. She will make wheezing sound and breathing very quickly at night while resting. She is also shivering at night which the vet says that it means that she is in pain. Gradually, her tummy start to swell from the excess fluid and now she has lose her appetite completely. She had zero food intakes for 2 week and her weight dropped from 22.6kg to 15.5 kg in about 7 days. I am so worried. How long can dogs goes without food!
I brought her to the vet again as her condition really worries me. The vet told me that she is dehydrated even though she is drinking a lot of water. She is also losing a lot of water from the vomiting and diarrhea. She has to be hospitalized for 2 days to be place under a dip. At the same time, the vet tried to give her some food but she simply refuse to take any so they have to resort to force feeding. She is vomiting a lot after they try to force feed her. I can only imagine the pain that she is going through.
Today they took a blood test and it shows an early stage of kidney failure. She have to maintain a low protien diet and change her dosage of medication so that she does not stress her Kidney. Problem is her heart needs the medication to help it pump properly and remove the excess fluid but the medication is too stressful for Kidney. Case is very delicate now.
With all the other organs falling apart day after day and the impending tests and medication, it really hurts me to see her go through all these pain.
I gathered enough courage to ask the vet how long can she survive with all the existing condition. The vet calmly explains to me. Spitz usually have a life span of 10 years but with some illness, we can plus minus 2 year. She is 7 this year and since she is suffering from a heart condition, she is likely to have 6 month to 2 year more. But heart failure leads to more complication in other organs which they cannot predict at the moment…. The vet goes on and on but I couldn’t take in any more information. My heart break the moment I know that she is leaving me soon.
Snowy, please be strong and please be brave. We will go through this painful process together as a team. Please hold on. I love you!
posted by Lynn Lindy | 1:37 PM
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