This all started with a little cough. Not the honking kind that I normally associate with kennel cough, but just a consistent, little cough. Arrow would cough maybe five or six times and then stop. This would go on for a day or two and then stop for a few days. I thought he had a cold and it would just go away. It didn’t. This lasted for about four or five weeks until one day I tried to get him to play with his whip toy – the kind with the squeaky squirrel toy on the end of a long whip. He LOVES the whip toy. He really, REALLY LOVES the whip toy. Then one day I took him out to play and showed him the whip toy and he looked at me as if to say, “Now’s not a good time.” He just laid there. That’s when I realized something was very wrong. Through x-rays, he was initially diagnosed with possible lung lobe torsion by a doctor at an emergency vet clinic. There was also some concern about the fluid he found in his chest which would later be diagnosed as chylothorax. He felt it was best to get Arrow a sonogram and to have the fluid from the chest tested. He couldn’t do it there and suggested we go to our own vet. We chose to take him to a specialty vet hospital, California Veterinary Specialists in Carlsbad, California that we’ve used many times in the past. Arrow’s case was taken primarily by Dr. Kevin Bissonnette and also by Dr. Sarit Dhupa. A CT scan showed that Arrow did, indeed, have lung lobe torsion. Surgery was done and Arrow had two lung lobes removed. This gave him 40% less lung capacity. He recovered well but follow up x-rays two weeks later showed that he was still leaking chyle into his chest cavity. Dr. Bissonnette recommended a thoracic duct ligation (TDL). He would also decide to do a pericardectomy based on what he saw once he was inside. Lymphangiography was also done to confirm the TDL. Ablation of the cisterna chyli (CCA) was not considered necessary as the stomach area did not show signs of chyle. I learned that I need to pay attention even to the small little things like a cough that doesn’t go away. After previous experience with very high vet bills, we decided to get pet insurance on our boys when they were puppies. We went with Healthy Paws Pet Insurance. They have been amazing all throughout this process. After two major surgeries, the total cost since Arrow was first diagnosed was just under $30,000. Healthy Paws covered about 90%. They have a mobile app that allowed me to upload the invoice as soon as I got it. They confirmed the invoice within 24 hours and then released a check to me usually within six to seven working days. I always hated that point when a vet’s office tells you the estimate of expenses and the first thing that I think is, “Where am I going to come up with that kind of money?” With this company, that never happened. I don’t work for them but I definitely want them to stay in business. They truly helped me give my boy the best chance at being healthy and living a long, long life. If you’d like more information about Healthy Paws, please let me know. I get a referral fee and you get a discount when you sign up. Finally, I want to thank everyone who cared about Arrow and sent him prayers, well wishes, white light, and whatever positive energy you believe in. I never intended my original thread to be anything more than trying to get information about something I’d never even heard of before Arrow had it, but this wonderful and caring borzoi community rallied around this boy I love. I’d also like to thank Ronnie Blackstock, Maurine Conti, Karin Johnson, Anna-Marie Stewart, and Diane Bracuto for sharing your knowledge and experience. Lastly, I’d like to thank my lure coursing friends, Kelly Culver-Mattiuz, Barb Franklin, and Karen Berry, who know Arrow first hand and pulled for him. You all are awesome and I hope one day to bring Arrow out again and “chase the bunny” if even for only a very short run.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 08:41:44 +0000
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