Update - We had to cut our vacation short because Princess was not doing well in the mountains - in fact, she was having so much trouble, I got a little scared she might not survive so we decided to come home early and bring her to see her regular vet, which we did this morning. They decided to refer her to a specialist for further testing because her x-rays and tests indicated some problems so we spend the afternoon seeing a veterinary cardiologist, getting examined and also getting an echocardiogram [and yes, it cost a million dollars, more or less]. The upshot is that her heart wasnt the main problem, thank goodness, although she does have problems - she has some pulmonary hypertension and her lungs are quite congested. The x-rays showed a spot that is probably an infection so shes been given antibiotics - if it doesnt clear up in a couple of weeks, further tests will be needed to determine if its cancer or some other condition but the doctor thought it was unlikely to be cancer. He thinks she has COPD as a chronic condition but we have to treat the current condition before they can determine any chronic problems she might have. She does have an enlarged heart and he thinks its due to chronic lung problems not the other way around as we were told by other vets [who are not specialists] - I guess thats the advantage of seeing a specialist vs a generalist. The cardiologist explained the problem she has and various things that could cause it, what it might cause in turn and we learned a lot about canine heart conditions in a short visit. He thinks the reason she was having so much trouble when we were at Reds Meadow was because her condition was aggravated by the elevation, which wouldnt ordinarily bother a dog but with her overall condition, it could have caused even more problems than it did. I guess if we had stayed in the mountains, she possibly could have died and the doctor said she should really stay near sea level after this. Soooo, no more mountain hiking for this little girl, who was a real trooper and gave it her best effort but was really struggling on the trails this time. She has enjoyed hiking in the past [at least most of the time] and seems to enjoy exploring new environments so this is disappointing news because it means we have to choose between unhappy options - either stay home ourselves and give up the mountains, which I dont want to do - or leave both dogs home when we go, which would be sad because she LOVES to hike and enjoys it soooooo much - or take Moani and leave Princess home, which would emotionally devastate Princess, who hates to be left in the first place and would be destroyed to be left AND left out at the same time!! What a dilemma because I dont like any of those choices! The best solution would be to find someone who lives nearby who loves little fluffy white dogs and wants to pamper one on occasion for a few hours or a few days at a time - preferably someone who has one or two little girls who want to pet and play with Princess while we are out having a good time. She loves to play with kids and adores being dressed up, etc. See the picture below of her wearing a tutu and being carried around by a 4-year-old, both of them loving every minute of it, heehee! Princess also really enjoyed staying with Toms niece Kelsi Armbruster Schroeder and her girls while we were in Europe but trotting down to Oceanside before going out on trips isnt going to work on a regular basis, esp now that Kelsi has gotten a puppy for the family, so Im hoping I can find someone close to Orange who wants to make a few extra $$ doing dog sitting thats really more like dog pampering because she is, after all, a PRINCESS first and foremost. In other words, she is a high maintenance girl who needs royal treatment and suffers from separation anxiety if shes ignored or left alone for too long. No kennels for this girl - Sigh! So in the meantime, Im not sure what well do but if you have ideas or suggestions or know someone who might make a good auntie for Princess when we go out, let me know. Here are a few pictures of my baby girl - who could resist that face???
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 23:50:05 +0000
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