The vets have given Pearl a final inning

Undertoad · 11-22-2012, 05:48 PM

When she was 8, the vets found Pearl's heart murmur. The head vet, the guy who owns the whole practice, talked to me about it. "Her normal life expectancy would be 12 years. With this, she might go at 10," he said.

Pearl is 13.

Her heart is very much enlarged, and she will die of congestive heart failure. We know this.

For the last two months she has started having seizure-like cardiac episodes, where she has an arrhythmia and falls over, unconscious. She's out of it for 30-60 seconds, and then she recovers for 5-15 minutes. She's generally not in pain during these things, although she is anxious.

It happens when she's excited, or when she exerts herself.

Every time, I wonder if this is the last. If this is the one that gets her.

To keep her going as long as possible, she is on a cocktail of four different drugs. The vet has increased the number and dosage she's on over time.

For the last few days she has been reacting well to the last increase. This gives me hope that she will hang on for another few months. Maybe the move won't be so difficult for her, and she'll have a little time at the new place. Her EKG was improved at the last visit. Modern veterinary drugs are doing for my dog what major surgery did for my mom.

That's what I hope. I love my dog so much, you can't believe it. With all the change happening in my life, it is a favor the vets and the world are doing for me, keeping her going a little while longer.

Griff · 11-22-2012, 06:09 PM

Hang in there Pearl.

orthodoc · 11-22-2012, 06:13 PM

Wishing you a happy holiday season with Pearl, UT. I'm glad the vets are able to help her out with meds. Best wishes.

Chocolatl · 11-22-2012, 06:39 PM

Best wishes for Pearl's health.

BigV · 11-22-2012, 06:39 PM

happy thanksgiving pearl

chill out little one. It's all gonna be alright.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too UT. have some turkey and some chill if you can too. you've been good, very good to Pearl, and she knows it. much love to both of you.

xoxoxoBruce · 11-22-2012, 07:19 PM

Knowing in advance, even 5 years in advance, doesn't help one damn bit.

Pearl has repaid her room & board many times over, and you've been loyal to her. Shows you can maintain a healthy relationship, if the other half holds up their end.

I remember suggesting you get another dog when you lost the last one, so Pearl would have company and you would have a buddy when Pearl eventually wore out. You didn't, and now with all the shit going on in your life, if that was a good or bad move.

glatt · 11-22-2012, 07:38 PM

Sorry, UT!

infinite monkey · 11-22-2012, 07:57 PM

Crap. Pearl knows how loved she is, and you know how much she loves you in return. That's the amazing part. My heart is with you both.

SamIam · 11-22-2012, 10:27 PM

That's really sad, UT. Sorry to hear and hope Pearl and you will still have some time together.

footfootfoot · 11-22-2012, 11:08 PM

Very sorry to hear about Pearl, she's always been one of my favorite imaginary dogs.

limey · 11-23-2012, 04:55 AM

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Pearl - that she can help you move, and approve your new place, and that the parting, when it comes, is gentle to you both.

Sent by thought transference.

Trilby · 11-23-2012, 05:52 AM

Oh, UT. UT & Pearl.

My heart goes out to you both.

I'm so glad Pearl is responding to her new dosage. I know how much you love her-ever since that first pic of her you ever posted of her little doggie self that I saw. I knew that she was beloved- she had that *look* dogs get when they get good love.

Like Carrot- *that* look.

Undertoad · 11-23-2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I remember suggesting you get another dog when you lost the last one, ... you didn't

No money. I tried briefly, but was skint when the time came, and had to bail on my breeder. And the thinking is, you don't get a dog when you're skint because you can't pay the vet to treat it properly if something goes wrong.

I will be looking to adopt, I think, when the time comes.

Sundae · 11-23-2012, 02:30 PM

True, UT. Would you be able to pay for all Pearl's meds if you had another dog? Would she get all your attention?
I value Bruce's opinion, but just the way things worked out I think you made the right decision.

I can taste your grief in the back of my throat. It's so bitter to lose a living being that gave and received love so selflessly. And know your only real hope of consolation is it not hurting so much one day.

My love to you.
Pearl doesn't need it. She has your love and her life has been perfect from her perspective because of it.

Jaydaan · 11-23-2012, 06:47 PM

I am so sorry to hear about Pearl's issues. The "fainting "spells, and the anxious after, are very familiar. My Freya did that for a few weeks, before she passed on. Freya had accute Boxer Cardiomyopathy... in english, an enlarged heart. The vet told us it would just be a heart attack that finished her, but it ended up choking because of the enlarged heart. One thing to watch for is a hacking coughing, sounds much like kennel cough or something stuck in her throat. If you do get unlucky enough to hear that, call your vet. It is a heart wrenching sound. But the vet may have meds or suggest the dreaded E word, but it might be the right thing for your baby. I have been there, felt that, and hated every second of it.
Value every second you have left with your baby! Screw the housework, curl up with her. Everything else can wait.

I am not trying to scare you, or make what you are going through worse. In fact, quite the opposite. If you know what could, or might happen, you may be more prepared for it. We had no clue, and waited days before calling the vet. We simply thought it was kennel cough.
We were not going to get another dog quite as fast as we did, but it ended up 13 days after Freya passed on, we were blessed with Aesa. If the right dog, or the right situation comes up you will know it.

My thoughts are with you and Pearl.

11-22-2012, 05:48 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	The vets have given Pearl a final inning When she was 8, the vets found Pearl's heart murmur. The head vet, the guy who owns the whole practice, talked to me about it. "Her normal life expectancy would be 12 years. With this, she might go at 10," he said. Pearl is 13. Her heart is very much enlarged, and she will die of congestive heart failure. We know this. For the last two months she has started having seizure-like cardiac episodes, where she has an arrhythmia and falls over, unconscious. She's out of it for 30-60 seconds, and then she recovers for 5-15 minutes. She's generally not in pain during these things, although she is anxious. It happens when she's excited, or when she exerts herself. Every time, I wonder if this is the last. If this is the one that gets her. To keep her going as long as possible, she is on a cocktail of four different drugs. The vet has increased the number and dosage she's on over time. For the last few days she has been reacting well to the last increase. This gives me hope that she will hang on for another few months. Maybe the move won't be so difficult for her, and she'll have a little time at the new place. Her EKG was improved at the last visit. Modern veterinary drugs are doing for my dog what major surgery did for my mom. That's what I hope. I love my dog so much, you can't believe it. With all the change happening in my life, it is a favor the vets and the world are doing for me, keeping her going a little while longer.

11-22-2012, 06:09 PM	#2
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Hang in there Pearl. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

11-22-2012, 06:13 PM	#3
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Wishing you a happy holiday season with Pearl, UT. I'm glad the vets are able to help her out with meds. Best wishes. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

11-22-2012, 06:39 PM	#5
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	happy thanksgiving pearl chill out little one. It's all gonna be alright. Happy Thanksgiving to you too UT. have some turkey and some chill if you can too. you've been good, very good to Pearl, and she knows it. much love to both of you. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

11-22-2012, 07:19 PM	#6
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Knowing in advance, even 5 years in advance, doesn't help one damn bit. Pearl has repaid her room & board many times over, and you've been loyal to her. Shows you can maintain a healthy relationship, if the other half holds up their end. I remember suggesting you get another dog when you lost the last one, so Pearl would have company and you would have a buddy when Pearl eventually wore out. You didn't, and now with all the shit going on in your life, if that was a good or bad move. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

11-22-2012, 06:39 PM	#4
Chocolatl Glutton for Gluttony Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 1,409	Best wishes for Pearl's health.

11-22-2012, 07:38 PM	#7
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Sorry, UT!

11-22-2012, 07:57 PM	#8
infinite monkey Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 13,002	Crap. Pearl knows how loved she is, and you know how much she loves you in return. That's the amazing part. My heart is with you both.

11-22-2012, 10:27 PM	#9
SamIam Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Not here Posts: 2,655	That's really sad, UT. Sorry to hear and hope Pearl and you will still have some time together.

11-22-2012, 11:08 PM	#10
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Very sorry to hear about Pearl, she's always been one of my favorite imaginary dogs. __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

11-23-2012, 04:55 AM	#11
limey Encroaching on your decrees Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An island within the south-west coast of Scotland Posts: 7,016	Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Pearl - that she can help you move, and approve your new place, and that the parting, when it comes, is gentle to you both. Sent by thought transference. __________________ Living it up on the edge ... of civilisation, within the southwest coast of

11-23-2012, 05:52 AM	#12
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Oh, UT. UT & Pearl. My heart goes out to you both. I'm so glad Pearl is responding to her new dosage. I know how much you love her-ever since that first pic of her you ever posted of her little doggie self that I saw. I knew that she was beloved- she had that look dogs get when they get good love. Like Carrot- that look. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

11-23-2012, 02:30 PM	#14
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	True, UT. Would you be able to pay for all Pearl's meds if you had another dog? Would she get all your attention? I value Bruce's opinion, but just the way things worked out I think you made the right decision. I can taste your grief in the back of my throat. It's so bitter to lose a living being that gave and received love so selflessly. And know your only real hope of consolation is it not hurting so much one day. My love to you. Pearl doesn't need it. She has your love and her life has been perfect from her perspective because of it. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

11-23-2012, 06:47 PM	#15
Jaydaan Knight of the Oval-Shaped Conference Table Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Vernon, BC, Canada Posts: 378	I am so sorry to hear about Pearl's issues. The "fainting "spells, and the anxious after, are very familiar. My Freya did that for a few weeks, before she passed on. Freya had accute Boxer Cardiomyopathy... in english, an enlarged heart. The vet told us it would just be a heart attack that finished her, but it ended up choking because of the enlarged heart. One thing to watch for is a hacking coughing, sounds much like kennel cough or something stuck in her throat. If you do get unlucky enough to hear that, call your vet. It is a heart wrenching sound. But the vet may have meds or suggest the dreaded E word, but it might be the right thing for your baby. I have been there, felt that, and hated every second of it. Value every second you have left with your baby! Screw the housework, curl up with her. Everything else can wait. I am not trying to scare you, or make what you are going through worse. In fact, quite the opposite. If you know what could, or might happen, you may be more prepared for it. We had no clue, and waited days before calling the vet. We simply thought it was kennel cough. We were not going to get another dog quite as fast as we did, but it ended up 13 days after Freya passed on, we were blessed with Aesa. If the right dog, or the right situation comes up you will know it. My thoughts are with you and Pearl.

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