Not sure where to put this, but I know the mods will accommodate if need be…
Way back in 1997 my family and I helped rescue two mixed terrier puppies from a bad situation and we took them into our home. It was a brother/sister pair whom we named Max and Jasmine. The brother, Max, was diagnosed by a vet 2 years ago with a congestive heart defect. We were never able to get the money together to get the necessary surgery.
Over the last month or so Max started to show signs of heart failure. He’s had trouble breathing and has started coughing a lot. (I don’t know if it’s “coughing” really, but that’s the best description I can give.) Earlier today his condition worsened greatly. He’s started showing signs of an imbalanced equilibrium. He can still stand for extended periods, but he’s also stumbling and falling on his side a lot. He’s also standing in one place and holding his nose up in the air, which I’ve never seen him do before. His breathing is severely labored.
I’m not sure what’s really going right now, but I have a really bad feeling about this.
I’ve buried pets in the past but it never gets any easier. We’re letting him eat and drink water and staying by his side tonight, but I don’t know if this is going to be “a thing” that takes hours or days or what’s going on. Any knowledge or previous experience would be greatly appreciated.
He’s 14 which I know is old in dog years. He’s had an easy life for the most part which is the only small consolation I can take right now. He keeps looking at me like he expects me to fix it. But I don’t know what I can do besides make him comfortable.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to post again tonight, but I will be will be paying attention to the thread.
So sorry to hear about Max. It may be trite to say this, but he’s had a long happy life with you and if it’s his time then that’s that. You will be with him, and that’s a great comfort to Max. If you think he’s in too much pain, it may be necessary to make that last visit to the vet, but from your description that’s not the case.
Rest assured Max knows you love him and will do your best for him.
Please take him to the vet and have him put to sleep if he’s in pain. And if he does pull through, please still take him to the vet. I had a dog with congestive heart failure and she was able to maintain on meds for some time.
I read this thread with a lump in my throat. I lost my beloved Papillon Jay to congestive heart failure in 2007. It was my first expreience with it and he was on medication. We thought he was responding to it, but the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it hit him hard and he dies in my arms.
I am glad you are taking Max to the vet. Jay didn’t go easily and it was not pretty. I wish I had had him euthanized instead. It will always haunt me.
I’m going through a similar situation right now too. My 13 1/2 y.o. Schnauzer has a heart murmur that has slowly gotten worse. My regular vet recommended she be checked out at the cardiac specialist clinic. I went last month and they did an ultrasound and I could see her mitral
ETA: I’m sorry, I should have previewed, as I would have seen that you posted while I was typing. I’m glad you are going.
Please take Max to the vet. In the late stages of CHF, the animal is essentially slowly drowning in their own fluid. When the left side of the heart can’t pump effectively enough to match the blood coming in, blood backs up in the lungs. The increase in pulmonary blood pressure causes fluid to leak into the airways, filling them with fluid and inhibiting (or eventually stopping) gas exchange. This fluid - pulmonary edema - build-up leads to coughing and labored breathing, and the lack of oxygen and build-up of CO2 may affect other organ systems.
As StGermain mentioned, there are treatments we can use sometimes to buy more time - for example, diuretics to get rid of excess fluid, blood pressure lowering drugs to reduce the strain on the heart, and other drugs to support heart function - and make the animal more comfortable. I.e., even if you are not ready to euthanize Max, there may be things you can do to help him, but only if you take him to a vet. If he is in distress tonight, please take him to an emergency vet, where they can euthanize him if he’s close to death or put him in an oxygen cage and give him IV drugs to stabilize him before sending him home on pills.
I’m sorry you and Max are going through this.
1st year vet student, insert usual disclaimers here
I’ll be watching the thread and waiting to hear about Max too. I suspect my cat has tachycardia, mainly because I work for a company that makes heart rhythm devices, and a little bit of knowledge in an otherwise ignorant mind (mine) is a dangerous thing. So your thread title caught my eye.
Reading though, I am glad to see that you’ve taken your boy to the vet. Your guess may well be correct, given his history, but as other comments show, your vet can diagnose and keep him comfortable.
Again, thank you for taking him to the vet. Come let us know how he’s doing, ok?
Well we took Max to the vet last night, and she told us that he had a severe amount of fluid built up in his left ventricle and there wasn’t much that could be done at such a late stage. He was slowly drowning in his own fluids and he had only hours, a day at the most. We opted to put him to sleep rather than let him suffer any more and he died around 1 a.m.
But I don’t know what I can do besides make him comfortable.