Teddy went into Congestive Heart Failure on Thursday Night 4/02/09……….started with coughing that would not stop and heavy panting.
As you all know he put on alot of weight after we had him fixed. He has been seen by the Vet every 3 months so this is quite a shock and quite an OVER SIGHT on the VET’s PART!!! How could they miss this?
This had nothing to do with Seizures. Those were under control.
Teddy started not looking right a few months back and I told the Vet he just don’t look right to me…then he started to walk funny. The Vet assumed it was his back………which it turned out to be his back knee was going out on him. We were about to get a quote for surgery on his knee when all of a sudden this HEART FAILURE kicked in out of no where.
One of the first signs of a bad heart is a swollen belly……well, sadly Teddy gained so much weight that we were not able to detect anything of the sort. He was coughing for about 2 weeks nothing serious. Always, sounded like a hairball and that would be it. He’d been panting off and on quite a bit the past few weeks but again we just blamed the weight.
Never in a Million Years would we have even thought he had something going on with his heart. For instance, the Tuesday before he passed we were exercising him in the living room and he tired easily (thought it was the weight) but he didn’t have that face or look in his eyes like he was sick at all.
So all and all this came on SO SUDDENLY. It started Thursday about 11:00 pm he just kept coughing and then would stop and then coughing, panting. Teddy for the first time looked at me like he had enough, I’m sure you all know the look. Ears down, no tail wagging, not eating, just starting at you hopeless like “Help me Mom”… I knew then and there this was it and I was so shocked at how fast this was happening. I knew in my heart he was going to die.
I stayed up with him through the night. I wanted him to see his Doctor who has been treating him all this time not some emergency vet who would just put him down in that shape. I also knew again in my heart that he wasn’t going to make it, but felt more comfortable if he were to see his Doctor.
As the morning approached, he was 100 times worse where it came down to me holding him up so he could catch his breath…you could hear the gurgling in his lungs and I rushed him to the VET.
The Vet said after checking his lungs and heart………how far do you want to take this? I said how bad is it? She said REALLY bad, I am so sorry, I really cannot help him long term. Meaning he would die soon regardless. There, Teddy just laid on the Table helpless .. I looked at him and just knew he was done. I told the Vet considering the weight issue, his knee and now he is totally suffering that I loved him very much and couldn’t bear to see him in this pain any longer. She said she agreed and was so sorry.
Before he was put down I spent some time with him and told him my Mom would watch over him and his brother and sister are going to be waiting for him on the other side. I told him I was so sorry and didn’t know he was sick at all……it came on so suddenly.
I think he knew if I knew he was sick I would have taken care of him.
She gave Teddy a hug and kiss and said I’m sorry baby……… we then euthanized him and I held him through it all and told him I loved him and of course cried my eyes out. It was very peaceful he did not even flinch throughout the entire process. When he finally passed I cried and told him “No More Pain, No More Pain”…..
I was there when Teddy took his first breath and was born into this world, and I was there when he took his last breath and left this world.
Teddy gave me 9 1/2 wonderful years, regardless of the Seizures. He was AWESOME!
I will miss him.
Please feel free to Post about Seizures still. Even though Ted is no longer with me I’ve dealt with Seizures for years now……….always see your Vet once the dog seizes. Always go with your gut. If you are not happy with your Vet’s opinion ALWAYS get another Opinion.
