In article
,
Mr_Markham wrote:

Hello all,
has anyone had a dog diagnosed with CHF/chronic valvular disease? My
own little five pounds of perfect has been diagnosed as of last week
and is now on four meds, including enalapril, aldactone, pimobendan,
and of course, the ever popular lasix. The heart specialist says she
may have a year to a year and a half. It's heart breaking and surreal
all at once. I have seen her echo and her heart valve problem but at
the same time I take her out and she loves, loves, loves to run and
jump and leap around like her heart is fine.On the meds she has
virtually no cough at all, ever, (unless her archenemy appears in the
yard and she gets on rant and gulps too much water in the middle of
her rant after drying out her throat barking) and it makes me wonder
if anyone else has had experience with this that maybe they could
share with me?

The first dog I ever lived with, Jasmine, was diagnosed with CHF in
February 1992 and given at most a year to live. She was on a lot of
medications, like your dog. She was on the special low-sodium food, and
we cut out all kinds of dog treats which are high in sodium; what she
got instead were baby carrots (which she loved) and alfalfa sprouts. In
April 1993 she wasn't doing very well and we had family portraits taken,
just in case; finally, at one point, my partner said "What the hell" and
gave her a piece of prime rib soaked in au jus. She perked up after
that (not because of that!) and after another three years, the vets told
us "whatever you're doing, keep doing it." So once in a *great* while
she got a very small amount something she wasn't supposed to have.

Every time the doctor gave us a prognosis she proved them wrong, and it
wasn't until 1997 that her quality of life deterioriated to the point
where we had to let her go.

I guess if I were offering advice, it would be to enjoy the present
moment to the greatest extent possible.
--
Kevin Michael Vail* * | I would rather have a mind opened by wonder
* * * | than one closed by belief. * -- Gerry Spence