"Taro had painful heart disease!"
Taro, a fifteen-year-old, neutered male, Japanese mixed-breed dog with heart failure,
At three, he was diagnosed as having filarial disease. The symptoms were coughing and an enlarged heart.
At seven, he tested negative for filaria.
At fourteen, he again had a cough, which had come back in May of the previous year. I began giving him medicine in the morning and at night.
From fifteen years of age to the present:
Heart stimulant (Lanirapid) 0.1 mg, 1¼ pills
Diuretic (Lasix) 2.5 mg, 1 pill
Vasodilator (Enacard) 7.5 mg, 1½ pills
He takes these doses of the three medicines twice a day.
In October of last year, he began to have seizures. (He falls down, as if his heart were about to stop for a moment, and struggles around, being conscious for just a few seconds.)
From two or three seizures a week, he has recently gone to having one every three or four days (He has not yet had two or more in a day), and two days ago, for the first time, he had a seizure late at night when resting.
In April, although the seizures only lasted for several seconds, he seemed to be suffering more than before, losing consciousness and losing control of his bladder.
He isn't coughing much now, only about twice in an hour, but the coughing itself is worse.
In terms of heart failure symptoms, this is the worst situation, and the vet has advised me to stop taking him for walks and keep him quiet at home.
No ascites or pulmonary edema.
No cancer was found in the examination he had in January of this year, and he has not lost any weight.
His bowel movements and appetite are good.
He is eating k/d for his bad kidneys.
He has cataracts, but no dementia.
He normally walks around in the house with a firm gait.
I think he is in pretty good condition for a fifteen-year-old.
He may not make it through the summer, but as there are limits to how much medicine he can take, I decided to buy supplements and see what they can do to make up the difference.
Taro Chinen