[Iluvalldogs]

I am so sorry to hear this! I pray that he will be ok! My baby, Peanut, passed away from CHF on December 1st of 2013 (coming up on one year in a few months). She had a stage 5 heart murmur and enlarged heart. I know your little one will be ok though, no matter what. I'll be glad to tell you what I know of our Peanut and maybe that will help.


She did not go into CHF in the beginning stages of her disease and there were no symptoms of any heart problems. Nearly three years prior to her going into CHF, she went in for a routine teeth cleaning. The vet noticed a heart murmur - stage 3, so he placed her on enalapril (2.5mg) once per day. To determine her hearts size, etc. the vet also did an x-ray. We found at that time that she did have an enlarged heart also.


Because of this new murmur and heart condition, we kept a check on her regularly. She would go into the vet often for checkups and blood-work due to her medication and illness. She did great on the enalapril. About a year after her diagnosis, she developed a small cough after play and during exercise. This was due to fluid build-up associated with her murmur and enlarging of the heart. So the vet placed her on Lasix, a very small dose once a day which we could increase if need be if her cough was worse on certain days.


The real miracle medicine (at least that is how we feel about it) was when the vet placed Peanut on Vetmedin (Pimobendan) at the same time she put her on the Lasix. I know with much certainty that this medication gave her several additional years that she wouldn't have otherwise had once her heart worsened. She would take half a Vetmedin in the morning and the other half at night (in addition to her other two medications).

Peanut lived almost 3 years from her first heart murmur diagnosis. Her staging progressed in that time period. Even up until the point of her passing away, she was always in good spirits. She played (though not as hard as she once did), she ate very well, she was always coherent and aware of her surroundings. She never suffered and if you did not know it, you would never know she was sick. She passed away three days after Thanksgiving last year. And she had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family before she passed.

The evening she passed away, she suddenly developed a very deep, continuous cough after she ate dinner and did a little routine playing with our other girls. It was the first time she had ever coughed non-stop and I knew immediately she would be leaving me soon. She did not suffer, and shortly after her cough worsened that night she passed away in my arms. I am thankful she did not suffer and I was with her. Though Peanut had CHF, she lived a very full life and I'm thankful her medication assisted in helping her feel her best.

I pray that your darling does not have CHF, but if he does that does not mean he cannot live a longer life. I definitely recommend a second opinion! And please keep us posted on the results. Very best thoughts go out to you and your baby. Hugs!