Pinky
New Member
I rescued Bear about 3 years ago, she's an American Cocker Spaniel and had heaps of skin issues/allergies which she still suffers from every now and then. She is estimated to be 6-7 years old now and weighs about 26 pounds. This week, she had breathing difficulties and was restless the entire night and crying/heavier than usual panting. I took her to the vet who did a chest X-ray and ran a bloodtest. Her heart is enlarged (13.5cm, normal size should be 10) and the vet said she has fluid in her lungs. Her bloodtest was clear of heartworm, so the heart problem is likely congenital. The vet prescribed some white tablets (diuretics to remove fluid from the lungs), liquid Prilium for the heart and told me to start her on Heartgard to reduce the risk of any secondary heart illness. In general, she has not started coughing, still loves her food and gets excited over fruits, she snores quite often at night, and she was never keen on walking much. Probably due to her heart problem.
Her next check up is in a month, and I am praying she will respond well to the meds. Unfortunately, we don't have an animal cardiologist in my country yet. I've been reading so much on the internet and the whole "6 months to 24 months" prognosis for illness like congestive heart failure is freaking me out. I would appreciate if anybody could share their experience or encouraging stories of their dogs with heart issues.
Sorry for the long post!
Her next check up is in a month, and I am praying she will respond well to the meds. Unfortunately, we don't have an animal cardiologist in my country yet. I've been reading so much on the internet and the whole "6 months to 24 months" prognosis for illness like congestive heart failure is freaking me out. I would appreciate if anybody could share their experience or encouraging stories of their dogs with heart issues.
Sorry for the long post!