Friday, May 24, 2013

Today is a special day....

It was four months ago today that Randall and I picked up Buddy from Dawn Enriquez after he became a Bark N Rest dog.

He has made tremendous strides health-wise. He was always an absolute sweetheart, but his congestive heart failure and advanced heart murmur made his life miserable. His coughing and hacking and trouble breathing just broke my heart.

Fortunately after about a week of being here and on medication, his CHF was under control and life improved. You can still hear his heart go "Swish. Swish." and he does exhibit the usual cough after drinking water and when he gets excited, but things are much easier on him.

He's put on weight since being here. He was 11 pounds when he got here and, while not starvation weight, was definitely too thin for him. He's now at 13 pounds and it suits him. It's also not causing problems with his heart condition, and that's always a primary concern. There's a little padding on the ribs, but you can still feel them there. 13 pounds looks good on him and he wears it well, so that's where we're going to keep him.

He does now get 1/4 of a 5 mg Prednisone daily. I made the call to add that to his medicine roster when he began having problems breathing with the increase in oak mold in early spring. I've tried taking him off it since that's now gone, but he's less comfortable. So while there's the possibility of organ issues in the future, I'm willing to risk it. Giving him 6 months more of life when he struggles to breathe isn't worth it. I made this call with our previous heart dog, Elvis, and didn't regret it. So the Pred stays. Buddy is nearly 16, and we're going to keep him comfortable.

Buddy gets along famously with the other seniors here in the house. He's easy going, loving and really a very nice boy. It's hard to believe his owners left him at the shelter.

So anyway, we're now at the 4 month mark with this little guy, and we're so happy he's here and doing well.

Buddy in the Irving shelter January 2013

Buddy chilling on his pallet at home

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for sharing this update on Buddy..and thank you for giving him the love and care he deserves! The rest of his life with you he will be loved...that is wonderful! It is also encouraging to read because my chihuahua has heart disease, too..he is only 11. we cherish every day! Feel good, Buddy!

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