- Feb 8, 2012
- 136
- 25
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Lucy(RIP) and Gizmo
In December our 7 1/2 year old bully Lucy began having a cough. Not often, or regularly, but it came and went. I was very worried it might be congestive heart failure since it sounded wet, but unproductive, so in January we took her to the vet and they thought maybe respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotic. It didnt help and the cough got worse. So they prescribed a cough suppressant and the cough got worse. Maybe allergies..............try benedryl, and the cough got worse. Maybe collapsing trachea.......at this point she is coughing at most exertion. We got her shots mid February and she had a reaction. Became lame for a week. Back to the vet. This time her heart and lungs didnt sound normal. She had an irregular heart beat. Maybe from pain? She became short of breath very easily, but was eating and toileting as usual.So in March we went back again and demanded an xray and bloodwork. Bloodwork was mostly normal, white blood cell high normal, but otherwise normal. Her xray was not. Her lung had a large mass. Her heart sounds were absent on one side. Suspected cancer and the vet suggested euthanasia. We decided to get a second opinion. The second opinion, using the previous vets xrays, thought perhaps pneumonia. Maybe. Put her on prednisone, Baytril, amoxicillin, aminophylline and something for sprinkling on her food for possible worm s(which was not really likely, but hey, lets try) and asked us to return in 3 weeks. She seemed to get a little better at first, but then after 2 weeks, she started getting a blue/purple tongue sometimes. So, on the 3rd of April we took her back. The vet considered new meds maybe, but wanted to repeat the xrays first. Lucy's tongue turned purple a few times in the vets office. Ater re-doing her xrays on much better equipment, the vet showed my husband the xrays. She had 8 nodules on her lungs, her lungs were mostly nodule. The vet said there was nothing more he could do.Most likely cancer and clearly she was suffering. So, with the absolute heaviest hearts, we whispered in our babies ear and did the last loving thing we could for her...we let her go to sleep. She was loving and happy and such a big part of our lives. The house is quiet and the silence is deafening. We will love her FOREVER