[kjc]

Poor Peek! I noticed he was having labored breathing, and his cough had become worse about 2-3 days ago. With the Holidays coming, I figured I better take him in today rather than wait until Christmas morning... we all know how that goes.

Kind of bad news though, he has fluid in his lungs, a result of congestive heart failure. He got a shot of Lasix and stayed in the O2 tent for a bit. Sent home on Lasix and Enalapril, indefinitely. Recheck in 3 weeks.

He has had a cough ever since I got him at 5 years old. Possibly a mild CT way down in the brachial area where the trachea first enters the lungs, so I'm used to him coughing on and off, but I could tell this was different. With him being 17 years old, I did not want to wait until he was really showing signs of distress before having him seen. He still does his daily routines and his appetite is still good, all else normal, just a more frequent cough, a slight heave to his chest (which just started last night) on inspiration and expiration.

He did seem to sleep a bit more yesterday, and didn't finish his food in one sitting, but came back and finished it a few hours later. As this is not normal for him, I made the decision to have the vet take a look at him. I don't allow him to go off feed for long, bc at his age, it's so easy for him to get too skinny quick, which brings on other problems with his kidneys and dehydration.

The vet also sent off a comprehensive blood panel and did x-rays.

He also checked his eye, and said it was healing nicely. (injury/ulcer in another thread)

Please keep my baby in your thoughts and prayers. I know he may not have too much longer on this Earth, but we're going to do what we can till his time comes. The vet thinks maybe 3 more years, which would be fantastic!