Hi Everyone.
I have some sad news. Katie has had some blood in her stool these past few days; so Jim and I took her to the vet last night. Anyway, Dr. Jaffe took a stool small sample and the results thankfully were negative. Then he listened to her heart with a stethoscope and said her heart beat is irregular. He said she has a heart murmur. He also said she has lost some weight since her last visit (which I did notice prior to last night). When she was spayed a few months ago, she weighed 2 lbs and 6 ounces (which is HEALTHY for her petite size) but last night she weighed 1 lb and 14 ounces. He said if he loses anymore weight, she will be emaciated. So he took 2 x-rays of her heart and chest. From the side view, her heart looks enlarged but from the front view, her heart looks normal. So this, besides her weight loss, is very suspicious.
My hubby Jim is bringing Katie back in Friday morning at 11 a.m. for a blood test. We have to take away her food and water the night before at 12 p.m. Dr. Jaffe said the blood in the stool is not something to worry about but to help ease some of my worries, he is going to take 1 more stool sample and test it on Friday (when Jim brings her in for the blood test). He said the blood in the stool is most likely from eating hard to digest food (table food) and then straining to poop. If the stool sample test results come back negative (and he strongly believes they will), then the blood in her stool is nothing to worry about. However, if the blood test results come back negative, then we will still have no answers.
So our next option would be to send the x-ray results and blood test results to a specialist and have him evaluate everything. Dr. Jaffe said this is very expensive but that doesn't worry me. I would never forgive myself if I didn't have the x-rays reviewed and Katie's condition got worse and killed her. Money doesn't matter to me, as long as my Katie is healthy and lives. But I really really hope the blood test results shed some light on what's wrong with Katie because right now, the vet has no answers for me. According to the vet, having a heart murmur doesn't not necessarily mean that Katie has heart disease. Heart murmurs are ranked by stages; stage 1 being mild and stage 4 or 5 being very severe. Katie could have a hole in her heart or a faulty valve. The vet can't pin point what the exact problem is until we get all the test results back.
I feel so helpless right now. I go out of my way to provide my dogs with the best of everything. They're both up to date on all their shots and spayed/neutered. They take monthly heart worm pills. I feel them expensive dog food. Even their treats are healthy and organic. I give them a bath once a week and god knows they have more clothes then Jim and I have put together. But when it comes down to it, all my love and care may not be enough to save my little girl. I just feel so useless because there's NOTHING I can do but wait for the results. And I hate waiting and not knowing. I've been doing research since last night on-line and I'm going to Barnes & Noble tonight to buy some books on Yorkie diseases and treatments.
If anyone has some knowledge and/or experience with heart murmurs, PLEASE let me know. I'm so worried for my little princess.
