Hi all, my Chibi is now 14.5! He usually very energetic and loves long walks. Just this Sunday he couldn't walk his usual long walk. In the last 2 weeks I had noticed that he was coughing more often and this past weekend noticed that his breathing has been more rapid than usual so we took him to the vet on Monday. He had an exam, CBC and an X-ray. They prescribed Doxycycline (antibiotic) and Hydrocodone/Homatropine.
Well, the CBC was normal and the X-ray after examined by a specialist (radiologist?) revealed a bit more damage than is normal for older dogs. They think that he may have chronic bronchitis or COPD. While his heart looked normal they though just maybe at one angle it could be enlarged but the vet basically thought it was probably OK. Anyway, we were referred make an appointment at another larger hospital to have a fluoroscopy/endoscopy, and an airway wash and my vet would send over his records as well.
It seems that we can't get an appointment for a month. Our vet told us to get an appointment within about a week and if not to go through emergency. The hospital told us that we could go through emergency but they can't guarantee that he would be admitted. I'm worried about waiting a long time. I wonder how quickly these conditions can get worse. We could go to other places but the hospital that we would like to bring him to is excellent and the other places I don't trust as much.
Has anyone has experienced COPD or chronic bronchitis with their baby? Any advice?
Thank You!
Background:
I think this unfortunately has been going on for some time. He has had a cough which sounds like a cat coughing up a furball for about a year but I think that the vets thought that it was his trachea cough. So I thought that too. This summer he seemed to cough more often again I told the vet. They didn't want to prescribe anything for it. I wish I had asked for an x-ray a long time ago!