Kat and Adeline
New member
Hey everyone. This is going to be a novel, but alot has happened over the last two weeks and I really don't want to leave out any detail that might be important.
Two weeks ago I noticed that my Addy was acting a little off. She seemed to be panting alot and just generally kind of felt "off". Her demeanor was strange. She got up, drank a ton of water, then suddenly vomited it all up and collapsed onto her stomach, all four legs splayed out. It was almost what I would call a seizure. After a minute or so she was okay. She continued breathing hard throughout the day. After she vomited water a second time I called our vets office. The vet was unavailable, but the nurse said it sounded really urgent and told me to take her to the emergency clinic right away.
My husband came home from work and we took her to the emergency vet. The vet said there was fluid in the sac around her heart as well as in her abdomen that is making it difficult for her to breath. She recommended euthanasia, stating that she is positive that it is caused by cancerous tumors on her heart. She said that it always happens in "smoosh-face" dogs and that she could pull the fluid out from around her heart but it would likely return within 6 hours or so. It was a complete and total shock for us. Although Addy has had allergy issues in the past, she has never had anything major wrong with her. The emergency vet said best case scenario, if we have tons of money to throw at the problem, chemotherapy that might extend her life a year or so. My husband and I were not ready to euthanize her (still are not). So I applied for carecredit and was approved for about $700. The emergency vet used it all and drew the fluid out from around her heart. She then sent us home with her.
Addy was really miserable all night. She panted and was just generally out of it. I started to feel guilty...maybe it was wrong to not euthanize her? Maybe I was making her suffer? The next morning was really no better. I gave her water via an eyedropper. She could still walk but she was just...not herself. She had a diarrhea bm with blood at the end of the stool. I called my personal vet and asked if we could bring her in to euthanize. She discussed what the emergency vet said and reluctantly agreed. She asked me to bring her in that afternoon- about 3 hours later.
My husband and daughter and I spent as much time as possible with her. She ate some (people) food for us. She sat out on the back patio with me for a while, tail wiggling and nuzzling me. She seemed to be getting better, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. The time came to go to the vet. My husband grabbed her harness and leash and Addy jumped up, excited. She pranced to the car and looked out the window excitedly the entire way there. My husband and I reluctantly took her inside and asked if we could talk to the vet before they prepped her for the procedure. When the vet came in Addy rushed her, tail wagging. My vet looked confused. She listened to her heart and looked at her gums. She did a general examination. She said that Addy looked great and that there was no way she would euthanize her at this point. We were elated. The doctor was confused as to why the emergency vet gave the diagnosis without doing any bloodwork. My vet recommends a full blood panel as well as testing organ function. We have been saving up for this since we have no credit left with carecredit after the emergency visit. My doctor prescribed hydrochlorothiayzide (sp?) which is a diuretic to help pull some of the fluid out of Addy's stomach. It seemed to work well. Addy was doing awesome. She was really active; eating chicken and rice as the doc recommended. She had a great appetite. I started to feel really hopeful.
Now I am afraid again. She is now refusing food. I can get her to eat...but I have to really work at it. There were a few days that we ran out of medication for her. The abdominal swelling seems to be back. She vomited once, two days ago. She vomited up a ton of grass. She is breathing hard again. Her gums do look okay. They are still pink. She is back on her full doses of the diuretic. Maybe I just need to give it a couple more days to work the fluid off of her. She is drinking water okay. The diarrhea is back, with blood at the end of the stool again. The only other thing I've noticed is butt scooting. She does that quite a bit and has been doing it for quite a while; even before the illness started. I've always just kind of thought it was an allergy thing.
If ANYONE has had this experience...please give me some advice. I am so panicked and I hate feeling so helpless. I have maybe half of what the doc quoted me saved up for the bloodwork and organ testing. What would you do in my situation? The limited funds thing is REALLY frustrating me. I feel like I wasted it all at the emergency vet. I dont want to say goodbye to my dog. I don't want my daughter to lose her best buddy.
Two weeks ago I noticed that my Addy was acting a little off. She seemed to be panting alot and just generally kind of felt "off". Her demeanor was strange. She got up, drank a ton of water, then suddenly vomited it all up and collapsed onto her stomach, all four legs splayed out. It was almost what I would call a seizure. After a minute or so she was okay. She continued breathing hard throughout the day. After she vomited water a second time I called our vets office. The vet was unavailable, but the nurse said it sounded really urgent and told me to take her to the emergency clinic right away.
My husband came home from work and we took her to the emergency vet. The vet said there was fluid in the sac around her heart as well as in her abdomen that is making it difficult for her to breath. She recommended euthanasia, stating that she is positive that it is caused by cancerous tumors on her heart. She said that it always happens in "smoosh-face" dogs and that she could pull the fluid out from around her heart but it would likely return within 6 hours or so. It was a complete and total shock for us. Although Addy has had allergy issues in the past, she has never had anything major wrong with her. The emergency vet said best case scenario, if we have tons of money to throw at the problem, chemotherapy that might extend her life a year or so. My husband and I were not ready to euthanize her (still are not). So I applied for carecredit and was approved for about $700. The emergency vet used it all and drew the fluid out from around her heart. She then sent us home with her.
Addy was really miserable all night. She panted and was just generally out of it. I started to feel guilty...maybe it was wrong to not euthanize her? Maybe I was making her suffer? The next morning was really no better. I gave her water via an eyedropper. She could still walk but she was just...not herself. She had a diarrhea bm with blood at the end of the stool. I called my personal vet and asked if we could bring her in to euthanize. She discussed what the emergency vet said and reluctantly agreed. She asked me to bring her in that afternoon- about 3 hours later.
My husband and daughter and I spent as much time as possible with her. She ate some (people) food for us. She sat out on the back patio with me for a while, tail wiggling and nuzzling me. She seemed to be getting better, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. The time came to go to the vet. My husband grabbed her harness and leash and Addy jumped up, excited. She pranced to the car and looked out the window excitedly the entire way there. My husband and I reluctantly took her inside and asked if we could talk to the vet before they prepped her for the procedure. When the vet came in Addy rushed her, tail wagging. My vet looked confused. She listened to her heart and looked at her gums. She did a general examination. She said that Addy looked great and that there was no way she would euthanize her at this point. We were elated. The doctor was confused as to why the emergency vet gave the diagnosis without doing any bloodwork. My vet recommends a full blood panel as well as testing organ function. We have been saving up for this since we have no credit left with carecredit after the emergency visit. My doctor prescribed hydrochlorothiayzide (sp?) which is a diuretic to help pull some of the fluid out of Addy's stomach. It seemed to work well. Addy was doing awesome. She was really active; eating chicken and rice as the doc recommended. She had a great appetite. I started to feel really hopeful.
Now I am afraid again. She is now refusing food. I can get her to eat...but I have to really work at it. There were a few days that we ran out of medication for her. The abdominal swelling seems to be back. She vomited once, two days ago. She vomited up a ton of grass. She is breathing hard again. Her gums do look okay. They are still pink. She is back on her full doses of the diuretic. Maybe I just need to give it a couple more days to work the fluid off of her. She is drinking water okay. The diarrhea is back, with blood at the end of the stool again. The only other thing I've noticed is butt scooting. She does that quite a bit and has been doing it for quite a while; even before the illness started. I've always just kind of thought it was an allergy thing.
If ANYONE has had this experience...please give me some advice. I am so panicked and I hate feeling so helpless. I have maybe half of what the doc quoted me saved up for the bloodwork and organ testing. What would you do in my situation? The limited funds thing is REALLY frustrating me. I feel like I wasted it all at the emergency vet. I dont want to say goodbye to my dog. I don't want my daughter to lose her best buddy.