I need serious advice please...
 

This is my first post on here, although I have been a lurker for awhile. :) My situation is very sad and I am so heartbroken right now. My sweet Gretta turns 1 year tomorrow, and Sunday she was diagnosed with a tracheal collapse. She is a little over 3 lbs. She started honking a couple weeks ago when getting excited and I just figured it was reverse sneezing. Well this Friday she started wheezing constantly and by Sunday she seemed to be struggling for air so much. I took her to an emergency vet hospital and they x-rayed her and her collapse is pretty severe in one spot. They gave her Theophylline and a shot but it didn't seem to do much good. I took her to her normal vet yesterday and he pretty much told me that medicine won't help as it won't of course open the collapsed part. She is eating and drinking well. She got so excited when I got home today. One of her vets main concerns is that she is breathing in so hard, and using her stomach muscles to get air, this is constant. Her wheezing is constant. I have kept her quiet and my children know to not get her excited.

I am soooo emotionally tied up in this little baby and am crying while writing this. She is so young and I feel cheated, I want more time with her! Her breathing is labored. Because of her small size she is not a candidate for surgery. My question is, should I consider the dreaded.... putting her to eternal sleep. She is struggling for air constantly, the wheezing does not stop. She strains her neck and opens her mouth for air sometimes. I don't want to lose my baby...but I don't want this most precious thing to suffer just because of my emotional ties.

If anyone is familiar with the severity degrees in this issue I would really appreciate any insight into this. I don't know if constant wheezing is normal, I am afraid it isn't. She has been sleeping a lot today. Thank you.

I'm so sorry for you and your baby having to go through this. It is severe when she's at this stage and she's so young. Surgery is not very successful even if she were a candidate for it. CT is a horrible, devastating condition. My prayers are for you as you make your decision.

Thank you for your prayers...God knows that I need them, I am a mess. I have been having a lot of marital problems through the year, and she is the only one I have had to cry with...she is a dear sweet friend to me, and it really hurts..I just don't want to let her go. She is so sweet, timid, and loving. She has been a blessing to me. Thank you for your response, I have never been around a dog with this problem so even though I have been reading a lot about it, I don't know what is normal as it advances. I do know she is extremely young to get it. I cant reconcile knowing that I am going to go in someplace and not come back with her alive. This is so hard.. thanks for listening.

I am sorry your first post is about your baby being so sick.I lost my Gracie at 6 1/2 to collapsed trachea. Her's was collapsed in the thoracic area and not a candidate for surgery. She did ok on meds for about a year and then one day she hadn't moved from the spot I left her in when I went to work and was having great difficulty breathing. I took her to my vet and she I asked her her opinion on what to do. She said she is struggling for every breath and is not enjoying life. I knew then it was time. If your Gretta responds to the medicine, continues to eat and drink she may have some quality of life. I know with Gracie it was critical to keep her from getting excited and that wasn't easy. It is the hardest decision to make but if they are suffering we have to do what is best for them. I think she will let you know when she has had enough. I will keep you both in my prayers.

Thank you for your response. She is struggling. Is euthanasia really painless? I just want her to go to sleep in peace and not feel a thing. :unlove:

I know you are concerned with her right now, but has her breeder offered any support, as this is a congenital condition in this breed. They will need to be notified so they do not continue to breed the parents, and some breeders offer a one year health guarantee... some lifetime against congenital defects....

Yes, and sometimes the vet will give an injection beforehand to keep them calm. It's an overdose of anesthetic agent like they use for surgeries.

My heart breaks for you, I am so very sorry.

From my experience with our blue heeler that had to be PTS, I don't believe there is any pain, her face nor body showed any signs of pain. I did stay with her, holding her and telling her how much she was loved by all of us.....she just quietly, quickly slipped away.....:(

I have not contacted her breeder. I know I need to talk to her, but it makes me sick. That someone could be breeding dogs without getting the parents tested. I wasn't knowledgeable enough to ask about testing before getting her. I looked into different breeders and this one did seem knowledgable and responsible on several fronts, and I did a lot of homework-I guess not deep enough, but I didn't know that the parents should be tested. She does offer a health guarantee but only at the replacement of the dog. I don't want another dog from her. I actually bought a playmate for Gretta from the same breeder about 4 months ago and it died of parvo a week later. We just got a replacement for that dog from her about a month ago. I feel without a doubt that the parvo of course was not her fault, yet she replaced it. I will let her know about Gretta's problems, but the thought of me getting another puppy to replace Gretta makes me want to vomit.

Thank you, I will make sure that they do this first. :(

I believe it is. I always stay with my baby and hold them while they cross over to the Rainbow Bridge. Mine have all gone peacefully. My heart breaks for you. She is so young. A couple of years ago I had to put my 7 month old (Dixie) to sleep due to congenital kidney failure. It is always hard to let them go but it just seems so unfair when they are so young. Dixie's breeder cried along with me and when I was ready she gave me another baby to share my heart with. I would definitely let your breeder know so they do not breed Gretta's parents again.

This is how I would want her to go. I am sorry about your loss.

Im so sorry you are going through this. I just want you to know That my thoughts and prayers are with you.

I will be there to hold her. I am just scared I am making the wrong decision, I don't think I have convinced myself that it is really as bad as it is. I can't help but thinking that it may get better...but the way she is breathing...it is bad, and it is constant, there are no "fits", it is just there, that wheezing noise... I don't want to put her down tomorrow...how ironic the day she entered the world she should leave it. :cry8:

I am so sorry to hear about your baby. I lost my baby, Prince, to collapsing trachea on Oct. 1, 2010 and I can literally ditto everthing Patti said in the above post...Prince was also 6.5 years young, his situation was not operable, and during his last few weeks, his medication stopped working and he was struggling to inhale. He did not have a quality of life as eating and drinking became more and more difficult. After staying up all night with him, and trying to make him comfortable, we knew it was time. We were praying for a miracle, but we couldn't have our baby suffer. We love Prince and didn't want him to be in pain.
You will know...you will know.

I am so sorry to hear about your baby. I lost my baby, Prince, to collapsing trachea on Oct. 1, 2010 and I can literally ditto everthing Patti said in the above post...Prince was also 6.5 years young, his situation was not operable, and during his last few weeks, his medication stopped working and he was struggling to inhale. He did not have a quality of life as eating and drinking became more and more difficult. After staying up all night with him, and trying to make him comfortable, we knew it was time. We were praying for a miracle, but we couldn't have our baby suffer. We love Prince and didn't want him to be in pain.
You will know...you will know.

Thanks for sharing your story, I am sorry for your loss. It is very difficult. She can still eat and runs to me when I get home, but it is so hard for her to breath. Sometimes her mentality gets "happy", but for most of the day she looks like she is struggling to stay alive. This small bit of happiness, which is derived from her family (me and the kids) keeps me wanting to hang on. I just don't know though, I just don't want to prolong her suffering. Does her constant wheezing and breathing with her stomach sound really advanced in your opinion? Thanks.

When it gets to a point where it's a constant struggle to breathe... yes. Keep an eye on her tongue and gums... if they are pink it's good... when they start to turn purple... she's not getting enough oxygen.

You could try a few things... put her in a cooler environment... sometimes heat worsens the condition. You could also try setting up a fan to blow on her... Princes Mom did say this helped Prince when he got really bad...

Many times CT won't affect a dog till they're older. It will start out as an episode here and there, a few times a week, usually brought on by excitement, and increased incidents will occur during hot weather. In cooler weather, it's easier for the dog to breathe, but then as they age and the cartilage becomes weaker, the episodes occur closer and closer together, until they are having difficulty breathing all the time. They pass from asphyxiation and sometimes heart attack, as many have enlarged hearts due to the strain on their systems to provide oxygenated blood to the body.

My heart breaks for you having to make this decision. My thoughts and prayers are with you. My gut feeling on these issues, as I went through this with my sister with her dog, is "you will know" when and if it needs to be done. I hope this doesn't sound emotionally disconnected or cold. SHe struggled with this for awhile and when her dogs medical situation turned to the point that she saw 'Baby" was suffering, and knew she couldn't help her, she allowed her to go peacefully. I'm sorry.

CT is a horrible condition. I have had three pups with it in the past and I hope never to have another. :( I lost a foster on Christmas eve day 2009 to it .. Ozzy was a dear little pup. He died suddenly of a cardiac arrest, but the days prior were difficult for him. I often wonder if I should have made a choice for him, but he was eating and seemed happy in spite of it all. His daily struggles will live with me forever.
For a time we did keep him stable on medications. If you have not explored all alternatives other than surgery, I would encourage you to do so.
I will keep him and you in my thoughts and prayers. I am so sorry. I just hate these stories. :(

Oh my gosh; reading this makes me so sad. Prayers for you and Gretta. Prayers for wisdom; for strength; for peace.

I am so sorry...my post referred to a him. :( Prayers for little Gretta.

I'm so sorry that you and Gretta are going thru this. I'm praying for you both. May God give you strength and courage while going thru this difficult time. Sending hugs.

I am so sorry Gretta has CT and is struggling so. My heart is breaking along with yours. I know how attached we can get to these little ones and how much it hurts when they hurt. My prayers are with you during this difficult time. I believe you will know when it is time. Just be sure in your own heart that you know you did everything you could do. It will make the decision easier. We are all here for you and Gretta. Give your little baby a kiss for me.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Gretta as you go through this.:(

I am so sorry my prayers to both of you

I went through a similar situation with my first Yorkie when he was less than three years old. It wasn't CT, though, it was cardiomyopathy and we first noticed the problem when he would sometimes breath abnormally. It was due to fluid in the lungs, and lasix helped a little while. He would have some normal days then something would excite him and he would start to struggle to breathe. Increase the lasix dose temporarily to clear the fluid from his lungs and he would get back to normal for several more days. (Lasix is a diuretic and will help to clear extra fluid from the body, I'm not implying this will help in your situation).

Then it finally got to the point where he was in distress without let-up, the lasix didn't help, we knew the one thing that he needed from us, the last little favor we could do for him in his short life, was to let him go and not put him through any more struggling.

It was very peaceful for him, not so much for us but it was what HE needed. He finally stopped struggling. He was so attached to me, I insisted on staying. He was stressed enough already, I didn't want his last feeling of me to be that of abandonment. When they get the first shot, it really does calm them down.

Have your vet explain the process to you, what you should expect. What will happen after the first shot? What will happen after the second?

The big complaint I have is that in such a situation, the vet should allow the grieving owner to pay before the procedure so that they can skip out right away afterwards without having to talk to anyone. My husband took Barkley's body out to the car, and I had to stand there in a short line and then talk to a smiling person that asked "will that be cash or charge?" and go through all of that paperwork just as if you had done a routine vaccination visit or something. All I wanted to do was get out of there and go home to grieve. If you can, get them to let you pay before.

I am so sorry for you and your precious Gretta. You love her very much, and if you feel she does not have quality of life, you will know in your heart if/when to set her free. We want so badly to hang on for ourselves, that sometimes we prolong and then question it afterwards. I do not know much about CT, so I cannot speak of that. Your vet is your best advisor.
I have just recently sent my 2nd furbaby to Rainbow Bridge (she was almost 15) and I can tell you that euthanasia is painless and peaceful/ not traumatic for them. I held her in my arms like a baby and looked into her eyes while telling her gently of my love for her, she knew we were saying goodbye and yet still had such love and trust in her beautiful eyes, and it hurt me soooo much... BUT, there was such an overwhelming feeling of peace in knowing that she had entrusted me with her life and love for all these years and that I could do this for her, set her free from the ravages that were taking over her frail little body. Of course I am crying while I type this because I miss her so much still, but I have no regrets as she was ready to go play with her big brother that went before her.
This is not an easy decision, and one you and your vet should make together after exploring what options she has for a quality of life.

Peace be with you, and prayers and hugs for your little Gretta and you. {{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}

Sending our prayers of comfort for you both.