[EdgyVeggie]

Thank you both for your thoughts and prayers. It really makes me feel good that there have been so many people that have responded to my posts. The more positive energy that goes towards Charlie's health, the better.

The weird thing is,is that he seems fine. He always runs around the house and plays with us. When he goes for walks, he drags us around. He howls when the fire station's alarm goes off, he does the 30+ tricks that I taught him, barks when the neighborhood dogs bark and when someone comes to the front door, begs for brushes, gives kisses throughout the day, etc.

I told my vet from day one (before any signs of coughing) to check him out for the top 3 problems that usually occur with Yorkies: Collapsed Trachea, Liver Shunt, and Luxating Patella. He always told me not to worry--"those things don't happen until he would be much older". About a month after I got him, he started coughing. My vet told me to keep track of it. I made a list of the date, time, and how long it lasted. It started about 3 times/day, maybe 3 days/week. Every visit I would tell him that I think it's a collapsed trachea. He would tell me not to worry about it. It would be a little better for a little while, then worsen, then better, etc. It started turning into a honking, gasping, squealing, almost hyperventilating noise. My vet told me to check his gums next time and see if they turn white. I told him they got lighter pink, but not white. He told me not to worry about it.

Then, all of a sudden, last month, he started doing it about 8 -12 times/day, lasting about 8-10 seconds each. One day I got so scared...he had an episode and it lasted about 12 seconds. He looked up at me with a scared look. I just did what I always would do when it happened...hug him and tell him "it's okay". It lasted so long that I was about to blow air in his mouth, but then it finally stopped. I said "F" my vet, I'm taking him to a hospital. That's when I took him for a checkup and then for the test a few weeks later, which was this past Friday.

The hardest thing is trying to understand that surgery is so necessary, since he hasn't been doing it as much. He is still his same old hyper self, running around in circles, bouncing off the walls, always wanting to play catch. I know that it is just a good month, but it seems like he is fine now. Even when it's a bad month, he acts completely normal except for when he has an episode. But right after he has an episode, he runs around, just like normal, as if nothing happened. It's just so easy to say "he seems fine" and just try to keep him from running around and keep him calm. But I know that this always happens, where he has good months and bad months. And like the Vet at the hospital said, he is only 2 years old and already his trachea has collapsed 50%.

Well, there's no sense stressing over this until I make my calls today and find another Vet to give me a 2nd opinion.

Red98Vett--I, too, have heard lots of success stories about fixing Collapsed Tracheas. In fact, the same Vet at the hosp performed a Collapsed Trachea surgery on a Yorkie I know and she is 100% better now. The most dangerous thing is that not only would they have to do that surgery, but they will have to fix the Laryngeal Paralysis...which is the most dangerous according to the Vet, as well as fix the failing valve.

Thank you both again for your kind words. I will definitely keep you posted if there is anything going on.

Take care.