Sad, but important update on collapsing trachea senior gal

[pamaz]

Hello all,

Wanted to give you an update on Kristen (aka Krissy, aka Krispy when her hair is greasy b/c she needs a bath) our senior rescue dog w/CT. It turns out that although she has a very mild case of CT, she has a much larger issue, which I have been told is VERY common to the small breeds. Closer xrays showed she has a condition called BRONCHIECTASIS. Where in collapsing trachea the tracheal rings collapse, in this her bronchial tubes are collapsing. From what I have read, been told, etc. many vet diagnose CT with bronchitis when in reality the actual tubes are collapsing.

She had SUCH bad night on Saturday, that I put her in the tub to give her a bath because I was going to take her to the vet to put her to sleep, since she was having so much trouble breathing. The steam seemed to help, I was rubbing her dry and we both fell asleep.

She is now on a pretty strong dose of prednisone, in addition to her other meds, a bronchiodilaor (theophylline), baytril (antibiotic), and temaril.

She goes into a crate daily and sits in a hot shower--the steam helps her breathe.

The steroids have been a lifesaver--it's like night and day.

The sad thing is this disease is chronic and progressive. At some point in the near future we will need to put her to sleep because she will be unable to breathe. For now she is comfortable, eats whatever she wants, and is happy. She has a new foster sister--a "yorkie" (6lbs but all grey!! haha) 7months old who was turned into the shelter as a "stray". She has an old broken front leg which was never fixed so it healed improperly. 2 vets did not recommend rebreaking/resetting so she will limp forever. I will foster her until her forever home is found, and while she is here she will learn from her elders (12 and 16 yr old yorkie) She and Kristen are sleeping together on the big doggie bed..

I know most people on this list have puppies, but I think the info is important as CT is diagnosed frequently, when there is a more serious, underlying issue. Info to store in the back of your brain for future use.


I will keep everyone posted.

Pam

[ChestersMom]

I am so sorry to hear of the problems your little rescue is having. I'm on my fourth rescue, and you just never know what's around the corner with some of them. Thank you for taking such good care of her and I pray the meds keep her comfortable for a long time to come.

[Yorkiekids]

I'm so sorry to hear about your poor rescues. You are such a nice person to do this work. I know steam helps a lot, because every now and then Piper needs a trip to the shower to help him breath. We usually land up falling to sleep together too.

[ryorkies]

God bless you for the work that you do.
It takes a very special person to do this kind of work.
These little guys are very lucky to have you in their corner.

[Patti]

How wonderful she has you at this time in her life. I lost my last Yorkie, Gracie at 6 1/2 from complications of a severely collapsed trachea and it was the most difficult thing to go through. Thunderstorms would set her off in t a breathing spell and I lived in dread of thunderstorms. One mistake I made was I always used a collar on her as I didnt know better back then. Now if I see a person with a small dog and I see quite a few, I try to nicely tell them that a harness is so much better for their tracheas. Also, keeping them from getting overweight helps. Good luck Iwill keep her in my prayers.

[sashajade]

aww bless her sending hugs
my tye (13 year old yorkie) has been on prednisone for over 3 years now due to heart failure, hes doing pretty good but does still cough quite a bit.