- Location
- Monmouthshire, Wales
Holly's friends will know her as a gentle soul with a love of all-day country walks and muddy wallows, founding member of the SW pack, and as the author of two dog-walking books. It looks like her walking career is over.
During the hot weather she was panting on her early morning walks. We just put it down to the weather and kept her in the shade and well hydrated. As temperatures returned to normal she carried on panting, and started to breathe more rapidly when at rest. A couple of days later she started drinking a lot of water. That night she was restless and confused and widdled on the bedroom carpet. We took her straight to the vet.
After three vet visits and various scans its clear that she has a serious heart problem. Her last vet visit had her in excellent health so the damage has occured over a matter of weeks. We're still not clear about the cause, the extent of the damage to her heart, and the long-term prognosis. The current thought is that she has infection in her heart valves so she's on strong antibiotics for that. She's also on two other drugs to try and reduce her heart rate and improve its pumping as it has enlarged. Today's visit to the vet showed that her temperature is back to normal, but no change in her overall condition.
The current aim is to stabilise her health so we can assess what happens next. She gets bored during the day and wants to play, but she quickly out of breath and lies down. We're taking her for slow 15 minute walks around the estate to raise her spirits. She enjoys these short walks but its about all she can manage at the moment. Holly is being her usual stoic self but we're in shock at the speed at which this has happened.
During the hot weather she was panting on her early morning walks. We just put it down to the weather and kept her in the shade and well hydrated. As temperatures returned to normal she carried on panting, and started to breathe more rapidly when at rest. A couple of days later she started drinking a lot of water. That night she was restless and confused and widdled on the bedroom carpet. We took her straight to the vet.
After three vet visits and various scans its clear that she has a serious heart problem. Her last vet visit had her in excellent health so the damage has occured over a matter of weeks. We're still not clear about the cause, the extent of the damage to her heart, and the long-term prognosis. The current thought is that she has infection in her heart valves so she's on strong antibiotics for that. She's also on two other drugs to try and reduce her heart rate and improve its pumping as it has enlarged. Today's visit to the vet showed that her temperature is back to normal, but no change in her overall condition.
The current aim is to stabilise her health so we can assess what happens next. She gets bored during the day and wants to play, but she quickly out of breath and lies down. We're taking her for slow 15 minute walks around the estate to raise her spirits. She enjoys these short walks but its about all she can manage at the moment. Holly is being her usual stoic self but we're in shock at the speed at which this has happened.
‘s and
’s that she improves
